The Karmic Trickster and Athlete Race Around the World (TDRR)
by King Goody Two-Shoes
Summary: Experienced players Zane and Sky have gotten to the finale of the in previous series, so both of them return to the Ridonculous Race spin off for another chance at the million. Of course Zane's still causing mischief for villains and cons alike. But what happens when both face gold-greedy ice skaters and Zane has a soft spot for a certain selfie queen? (References throughout)
1. None Down, Nineteen to Go

**A/N: Hello, everybody! It's King Goody Two-Shoes here and I just wanted to let you know that I'm not dead! Yet. Anyway, there aren't many Ridonculous Race stories out there so I decided to make my own where my oc, Zane Blackwood, teams up with his cousin Sky (from Pahkitew Island) in the Ridonculous Race in order for a chance to win the million (Even though she won it in one of the endings). But before I go on with the race here are some facts on him:**

 **Name: Zane Blackwood**

 **Age: 19**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Height: Slightly taller than Noah**

 **Personality: Clever, Mischievous, Comedic, Kinda Sarcastic, Heroic, Aggressive when necessary.**

 **Race: African-Canadian-American (He was born in New Jersey)**

 **Looks: Neat onyx-colored spiky hair, light brown skin, black eyes, well-rounded body, sharp chin.**

 **Outfit: Black and blue jacket, blue jeans, gloves, and sneakers.**

 **Pajamas: Navy blue short-sleeve t-shirt, sweat pants,**

 **Bathing Suit: Blue swimming trunks.**

 **I know it's sort of an AU to Sky's family and it sounds like they're not related at all, but hey! It's fanfic, it's supposed to not make sense... in a way. Anywho that was just some info for my oc. Also I'll combine the first two episodes of the Ridonculous Race just for kicks and giggles. Now enough of that and onto the important stuff like the disclaimer.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama. All rights to Fresh Tv and Cartoon Network. References will be throughout the story.**

* * *

Ah, Toronto, the capital of North America. The place of which the Albino Panther roams freely through the city. A great place for vacation in order to take some time off with my cousin Sky.

Who is she?

She's just a contestant from Total Drama Pahkitew Island who got into the finals. Crazy reality show hosted by Chris McLean who tortures teenagers for fun. He better be glad I wasn't along for the ride, or else it would've been a NIGHTMARE for him! I'm serious, you cross me the wrong way, I will leave you in a corner crying like a baby. Just look at what I did for two seasons when we were on a rustbucket and island. The good news out of it is that she made some friends along the way, but I can't say the same for Dave. I kinda felt bad for him since his heart broken... twice. But in the end, he was safe until he got attacked by the Scuba Bear when he turned evil.

Yeah... it doesn't look like she left a good taste back then. But enough of her, let's go to me. I'm Zane Blackwood by the way. Ya know, past contestant, Sky's cousin and everything. Sure we might not look like we're related, but appearances aren't everything you know! Just what are her and I doing right here in the capital? Right now, we're just spending some quality time together, getting fresh air, seeing the sights, and-

Okay, fine. That's not what's happening. What's really going on is that we're being _forced_ to compete in the Ridonculous Race. We're labeled as "Acrobats" since you know, we're both athletic, daring, have a load of determination, and some brains too.

Well, at least for me though because Sky was manipulated by Chris at the end of the season just for drama.

Anywho, our (own) parents made us do this since they thought Sky needed a break from athletic training binging in recovering from last season, and for me to break my mischievous yet totally justified acts. Don't look at me like that. It's hard habit to break especially when you've got to let people know not to mess ya! Also, they threatened me with community service until the season was over.

Anyway, the good news is they have a new host named Don who'll leading this show. Thank goodness because I don't think it would be great if me and Chris were in the same space. The confessionals were upgraded to backdrop as the confessional booth. I see they took the suggestion of improving privacy... good choice men.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: *Smiling* Ever since Pahkitew Island, I'm so excited to back in the race for a chance at the million there's no way we can lose with my cousin Zane to back me up.**

 **Zane: *Smirks* Yeah, I came here for support.**

 **Sky: Thanks.**

 **Zane: *Frowns* I said I came here for support. I'd rather be back at home having fun with my friends.**

 **Sky: *Raises an Eyebrow* And causing trouble on your enemies.**

 **Zane: *Grins* That too. Which why I was threatened with community service until this was over.**

 **Sky: *Unamused Look* You just can't stay out of trouble can you?**

 **Zane: Nope.**

* * *

Speaking of original contestants, Owen and Noah were back on again. Ever since the first season of Total Drama, they've starred in other reality shows like Meltdown Kitchen and amazingly Fashionista Flip-Flop. Also, the wizard guy Leonard was back on and had his plump girl sidekick (I think) elf with him. Five bucks says they get eliminated first. Also, Geoff brought his friend Brody since his girlfriend Bridgette was busy in Australia. Most of the people competing were around our age, except for Father and Son (Dwayne and Junior) the Daters (Stephanie and Ryan), and the Tennis Guys (Jerry and Pete); those dudes look like they were 80... maybe 60... or 70?

We all walked over to the starting line of the race where Don was standing, "Welcome contestants! This is the starting line for your twenty-six part race around the world. Each part ends at a chill zone. Get there fast because the last team to stand on the 'Carpet of Completion' may be cut from the competition. But the first team to reach our last chill zone will win one million dollars!" We all cheered in response, "Look over here," He gestured to box that looked like him except square, "This is our Ridonculous tip box, also know as 'The Don Box'. Press this button to get your tips that will lead you through the Ridonculous Race around the world. Ready teams? On your marks," We got into race positions, "Get set... RACE!" All of us ran to the first box, but we ran over our host in the process.

Don't worry I'm sure he's fine.

We got to the Don Box just after Geoff and Brody had received the first tip. " _Race on foot to the CN Tower to receive the next tip_ ," I read the tip. We took off again and passed the surfers, but we were still behind the Ice Skaters and Father and Son.

"There's the tower!" Junior called out.

"And here's come the competition!" Jacques ran past with his partner as they smiled to the cameras. I have no idea why they're doing that...

Just after that, Dwayne had rolled over a trash can, recovered, but it landed on top of the Ice Skaters. Good news is Sky and I have second place!

We had arrived at the Don Box and received our tip for the next leg, "It's an _Either-Or_." I frowned, "What's an _Either-Or_?"

Sky read the rest of it, "We get to choose a challenge. _Stairs or Scares. Either take 144 flights of stairs to the top or ride the elevator to get the scare of a lifetime at the skywalk._ Let's the scare. It'll be faster." She ran ahead.

"Whatever you say," I shrugged then caught up to her at the elevator where Father and Son had left for some reason. When we arrived we saw the buttons were jammed. "What the...?"

"The elevator's broken," Sky complained.

"So... do we wait or try the stairs?"

"Not too sure. Last time we climbed stairs it ended with you in hospital because your legs feel asleep."

I put a finger on my chin, "I don't remember falling down stairs."

"Yeah... you might've hit your head a few times down. Besides if luck's on our side, this'll be faster."

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, we'll wait." Unfortunately because of this, other teams started to arrive so we had lost our lead. And after a long holdup, the elevator started working. We entered inside where some of the teams entered inside. With an awkward silence, I tried to make a conversation with Kitty, the girl in pigtails.

"So, how's it going with you?"

"Well-" She interrupted when her sister, who I learned was Emma, cleared her throat and glared at me.

I put my hands up in surrender, "Ok, ok. No conversation. Yeesh, what's into her?" I muttered to my cousin who shrugged.

The elevator had reached toward the skywalk where Tom and Jen were standing, "Hold on, I need to make sure my helmet is disinfected before we do this." I looked to the camera with an 'Is he serious?' face.

Sky and I just took a helmet for each of us and saw we were high up. WAY up and didn't help that it was windy either.

"Whoa!" I had wide-eyes, "Looks like Total Drama hasn't changed at all!"

My cousin only sighed in response, "No, they haven't."

"Ah, junk it! Let's do this already." We started to walk across the walk after Best Friends, Tennis Guys, and the Sisters had passed by us.

For some reason, Kitty was recklessly taking selfies with no regard. I know I'm used to danger since I cause mischief, but she's just wanting a death wish, "This is so cool!"

"Focus this is life or death!" Emma called back to her. Uh, that doesn't seem to faze your sister.

"Oh, come on! Look at what we're doing! It's incredible! I feel so al-AH!" Turns out, Kitty had lost her balance along the edge. On instinct, I ran ahead and grabbed her hand before she could fall.

I laughed, "Do you feel alive now?" She laughed nervously and blushed a little. It was cute. Uh, ignore that last statement.

"What's cute?"

Wait, I said that out loud?! Whoops...

It was my turn to laugh nervously, "Heh, heh, nothing." She left me letting give a sigh of relief. Sky, who had caught to up to me, looked at me strangely, "What?"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: You seemed really concerned for her back there.**

 **Zane: *Shrugs and Smiles* Well, yeah. I don't want anyone to die in this show.**

 **Sky: *Not convinced* Uh-huh.**

 **Zane: *Frowns* N-no, I'm serious. It's very wrong to see someone plummet to their death. *Still gets an unimpressed look from her* I'm not lying.**

* * *

After we finished the skywalk (no pun intended), we caught to a few of the teams and received our next tip which was riding down a zip line over Lake Ontario. Hmm... that sounds like fun.

"Zipline? I've always wanted to do that!" A blond girl, whose name was Carrie, exclaimed.

"Zipline? I've never wanted to do that!" One of the tennis guys complained.

"Eh, I don't care. I've always done dangerous stuff like this," I shrugged for umpteenth time that day.

Sky and I took the zipline down ahead of Best Friends, Carrie and Devin, and grabbed the tip. We bounced off the pads at the bottom and my cousin read the tip, " _Take the first flight to Morocco."_

"Come on let's go!" We ran to the book ourselves on the first flight. But where was this race really gonna take us? That's a question that we may not know.

* * *

 **A/N: Time for part two of the Ridonculous Race!**

* * *

You know how when you're on a plane and use the time of the trip to do whatever you want? Well, that seemed like a good choice for Sky and I to decide what to do. Our flight to Morocco was a good time for rest and relaxation. Of course it was kinda hard to do that if you were right next or behind Owen. who was eating sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies loudly. I'm more impressed he isn't screaming while on the plane.

"That was delicious! Can I have another batch?" He asked the flight attendant. Seriously, it's amazing that he can just about anything and _everything_.

"That was our last batch sir," She replied, "You pretty much ate _all_ of the snacks." The attendant left the aisle.

"NO!" Owen screamed in terror then he calmed down for second until he hugged his teddy bear (which he had for some reason) and turned back to us, "It's okay though. I have Beary to keep me company," He chuckled, "Get it? _Beary_?"

"Yes..." Sky nervously smiled while Noah rolled his eyes.

"I used to be afraid of planes. Now with him along, I don't need worry about my fear of flying," He held the bear to his face, "Isn't that right Beary? _Oh no you don't Owen. You have my company to keep you calm!"_ He imitated a toy voice at the last part. Sky and I glanced at each other for a moment.

 _"Attention all passengers, we're now beginning our descent to Morocco. Please wear your seatbelts and as we exit, leave in a calm and orderly fashion,"_ The pilot announced over the loudspeaker. As the plane finally landed, and we left, it was more of a stampeding herd of bulls. Needless to say we made him angry, _"I said ORDERLY! Ugh, nevermind."_

All of us on the first flight ran to the Don Box for the tip to receive our next tip.

"The spice is right. It's an _All-In!"_ Jacques announced.

Sky read the second part, " _An All-In requires both teammates to participate in the challenge. Make your way to Yosef's Spice Kiosk and choose five different spices- ideally cumin, cinnamon, paprika, saffron and ginger to receive your next travel tip."  
_

I read the last part, " _Warning: some spices are so blistering hot it'll make you wish you'd never been born. Good luck..."_ We ran over to catch a taxi along with the other teams. After a short ride, we had arrived after some teams made their stop at the kiosk.

"These aren't labeled!" One of the Police Cadets, MacArthur, complained, "Why aren't they labeled?"

"It's this one!" Carrie pointed to one of the spices, "This is cinnamon, this is cinnamon!" Personally, I didn't care what spices they threw at us. I could breeze through it easily.

Some of the teams got their spices ready, but the reason we were held up is because _I_ was choosing the spices. Don't judge me, I like spicy things! The good news is, we weren't in last. In fact, Father, Son, and The Reality Tv Pros had just arrived.

"Come on, Zane. Hurry up! The other teams are ahead!" Sky gestured to the other who were far away.

"Ah, forget it. Just give us any spice," I told Yosef. He gave us random flavors of spices and loaded it into a bag with the next travel tip, "Here we go. _Ride across the desert to the restaurant on your camel."_ We looked to the herd of camels that were swarming with flies, "Well, that's one ride we'll never forget... no matter how hard we try."

"WHY DO THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME?! AAAAAHHHHH!" Owen seemed to have a panic attack on choosing the spices and ran away.

"I worry for him sometimes," Sky said.

"Don't we all?" I replied. We would've helped him if we could, but Sky and I had lost time so we took a camel and rode across the desert. Shortly after, Owen, Noah, Dwayne, and Junior had caught up to us. I'll take everyone's word and looks of it to say that Morocco is HOT. Seriously, everyone was laying on their camels and even they were getting exhausted.

Noah had caught up to us and asked me or more like groaned, "How come you're not affected by the heat?"

I shrugged, "It's in my life blood. Except for when I'm in a steamed room..."

After a short trip we had arrived by our next stop. Sky and I jumped off our camels and read the next tip, "It's a _Botch-or-Watch: Just Stew It._ _Hand your spices to the chef so he can add it to a bowl of to a Moroccan stew which one of you must eat."_

I smiled, "I got-"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She stopped me before I could say 'Yes', "You know what happens when you eat spicy food."

I frowned at her, "Oh come on. It was just the _one_ time I wrecked the house."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Grinning* The reason I took so long on those spices is because I wanted the hottest ones they offered. I don't know, I can take about any heat you can throw at me.**

 **Sky: Not only that, but he gets very hyper when he eats anything spicy. Seriously, I've seen him drink an entire bottle of hot sauce, eat a ghost pepper whole in one bite, and he destroyed our house in half an hour. I don't know how he does it.**

 **Zane: *Shrugs* It's probably just in my life blood. I heard that I came from a long line of people who can handle all the spices of the world and- *Frowns* you don't care do you?**

 **Don: *From the camera* Absolutely not.**

* * *

 _"When you finish your stew, race as fast as you can through desert through the chill zone because the last team to meet Don will be cut from the race,"_ Sky read.

"Okay, let's Stew this!" She shot me an unamused look, "Sorry, some habits are hard to break." My cousin handed the chef our spices and started making the stew. After a bit of a wait, he was ready. As soon as she started eating, the other teams started to arrive. But what caught my attention was that Owen's face was tomato red from the stew.

"Yeesh, what's up dude?" I questioned his condition.

Owen breathed heavily, "NEED. WATER!" He immediately ran over to his camel and actually (and I'm a thousand percent serious) drank its spit. Man, he really can eat and drink just about everything! I'm both impressed and a little disturbed.

Chet, on the other hand, gagged making Lorenzo glare at him, "Do not spit that out Chet or we'll lose!" It's kinda hard NOT to puke that up after seeing someone drink saliva unless you're me. Because I've seen crazy junk through the years, "Swallow! Do it! DO IT!"

Amazingly, he did so but something that affected the others, "My barf is actually less spicy than the stew!" Well, that's something you don't hear said too often.

In response, Crimson, Spud, Emma, Sky, and Mickey gagged. I laughed and pointed at Emma though because... well... she's not exactly the greatest person to hang with.

I regretted that because she was able to swallow back down her puke (for a moment) and glared at me, "If I throw up, it's going to be all over you!" I gave wide-eyes back in response.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Desert)**

 **Zane: *Frightened face* I'm usually not fazed by other people's threats, but her eyes man. Her eyes! It's like staring at serial killer with a chainsaw about to slice you open!**

* * *

After that sentence, I wasted no more time and told my cousin to swallow her barf and chug down the stew, "Quick! Swallow and chug before she really does puke on me!" Sky was able to do so which probably is harder than it looks. We took into the desert and left the other teams in the dust.

After a long time of running, we had finally reached the chill zone. "Congratulations, Acrobats! You come in 4th place."

"Yeah!" Sky and I high-fived each other.

"Wait a minute," I stopped and gave him a strange look, "Acrobats? We never agreed to that name."

Don shrugged, "Well, we were gonna call you 'Athletes', but... it just didn't sound right," We gave him unamused looks.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Smiles*Other than our label, 4th place. It's not so bad for returning on a dangerous reality show, huh Sky?**

 **Sky: Yeah, but we can do better that. We have to keep on eye on the other teams to see what their motivation is.**

 **Zane: Ah, don't worry about them Sky. All we need to do is keep our eyes on the prize. Besides, what's the worse that can happen?**

 ***Awkward Silence***

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 ***So, that's it? They're just gonna keep the cameras rolling?***

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 ***Oh brother...***

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 ***Sighs***

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 ***I wonder if this'll end soon...***

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Zane: See? Nothing.**

 ***Oh, finally.***

* * *

"You have to start doing more!" Emma's voice had caught my attention.

"I would love to do more if you let me. Please!" Kitty's voice followed.

"I'll tell you when you can do more, 'Kay? I will tell you!" Oh brother. Better go settle this.

I cleared my throat got them facing me, "Is there anything wrong here ladies?"

Emma scoffed, "And why would you care?"

"Because I actually treat people _human._ Not like an animal. Besides, what did she do? Slow you down?"

"No..."

"Get distracted?"

"No..."

"Cause a chain reaction of events that backfired?"

"No..."

I smiled, "Case closed-"

"Case open!" She interjected making me sigh and roll my eyes, "There maybe no connection, but... you see... I... UGH!" She stormed off.

"Not very convincing Mia Fey!" I called back to her then laughed.

"So..." I turned to Kitty who was a little sheepish, "Um... thanks for... standing up for me." Weird, I've known her for an episode and usually she's cheerful, social, and takes selfies. I haven't seen the shy part of her which is new.

I chuckled, "Well, what was I supposed to do? Stand around and watch you get run over? Besides you're pretty... cool!" I saved myself from embarrassment again, "Pretty cool! I mean, it's not like uh..." We were both staring each other awkwardly for a long time, "I'm just gonna go."

Don called mockingly, "Very smooth Russell."

I glared at him, "Oh, shut up Kevin."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that's the end of the two part episode of the race And it looks like Zane's crushing over Kitty.**

 **Zane: I am not!**

 **Whatever you say Russell. What more obstacles await for Zane and Sky as they traverse through the competition? Found out next time on... The Ridonculous Race!**

 **Don: Hey, that's my line!**


	2. French is an Eiffel Language

**Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama. It belongs to its owners.**

* * *

Total Drama has been of the most popular reality shows to hit international television. Not just because there's drama, comedy, fails, epic wins, wipeouts, and the stereotypes in it. There's also seems to have love going on between contestants. And when I say 'love' I don't mean like the Daters kind of love where they just make out with each other just because they met two months ago and have a lot in common. I'm talking about the _normal_ stages of romance. When I checked the updates for the Ridonculous Race, it seems I'm the one who seems to be talked most about along with Kitty right next to Devin and Carrie. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Trust me... it's not.

I mean let's be serious okay? We've only met for a couple episodes and we seem to becoming good friends. Not as great as 'Best Friends', but you know... normal people friends like Owen and Noah. It's just that... you see... okay. Back to the main part of the story.

Sky and I sprinted to the Don Box after the first three teams received their tips. My cousin gasped then cheered in excitement, "YES! We're going to Paris!"

I wasn't ready to get excited knowing Total Drama, "Paris, France or Paris, Texas?"

"France."

"YEAH!" I pumped a fist in the air in victory. I keep forgetting that Chris isn't in charge of this show.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Desert Highway)**

 **Zane: *Smiling* I've always wanted to go to Paris, France. The art, monuments, culture, it's no wonder it's at the world's center for popularity.**

 **Sky: You seem really excited to go there.**

 **Zane: *Shrugs* Not as excited as them. *Points to the Fashion Bloggers***

 **Tom & Jen: EEEEEEE!**

* * *

We had to drive on the scooters to get to the airport down on the highway. I drove while Sky had to hang on for her life. Seriously, I was past the meaning of FAST! I didn't even realize it until Sky was hanging tightly onto me to the point I thought she would crack one of my ribs.

"Slow down Zane! I can barely hang on!" She yelled.

"Sorry, Sky! But we can't afford to slow down if we want to get a head start!" I screamed back to her.

"But the first nine teams will be on the same plane!"

"Oh, then I've played too much Need for Speed," I sheepishly admitted and slowed down a little. But in all honesty, racing is thrill and heart of the world. Nothing gives you the most freedom when you fly out of the nest.

I then heard MacArthur making a siren sound behind us as we caught up to the Best Friends.

"It's the Cadets!" Carrie pointed to them as they passed. Soon enough the Ice Dancers caught up, who were smiling at the cameras. Shouldn't they be keeping their EYES ON THE ROAD? Besides that, all of me wanted to speed things up a little.

"Okay! GAME ON!" I revved the scooter and flew passed all of them, making Sky scream in terror. What can I say? I just resist the feeling of going at the speed of light. We were about to crash into the airport lounge, but I stopped in time, "Huh, that wasn't so bad right Sky?" I only saw her the frightened expression while she was shaking, "Sky?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Airport)**

 **Sky: *Glares* I know he likes the thrill of going fast and racing on a motor, but come on! Who does he think he is, Speed Racer?**

* * *

After resting slash recovering from recent personal record of breaking the sound barrier on the plane, we ran to our cabs and told the driver to take us to the Eiffel Tower. A little bit of time was taken as we approached the Don Box behind the Cadets and Ice Dancers.

"Huh, it's a _Botch-or-Watch."_ MacArthur read from the tip.

Don, who was standing near some kind of critic, "At this _Botch-or-Watch,_ whoever didn't eat stew in Morocco must draw a caricature of their partner. When this local French artist approves of your drawing, you'll receive your next tip." More cars arrived which meant all the first teams were here.

"Quick, get drawing!" Sky suggested, more like commanded me. She posed as if getting ready for a Track and Field event. For my caricature, I drew a picture of Sky winning every Olympic event that she could dream of. What can I say? She has a lot of determination. The artist approves of us and gave us our travel tip before he checked Noah's picture.

He showed us the caricature of Owen eating the Eiffel Tower. We shared a laugh and even The Party Guy himself (though he had no idea what his friend drew), "Wait, I'm wanna see the picture." He said after Noah grabbed his arm. Trust me, you don't.

I read, _"Go down, down, down, to find the cheese so round where your next tip is found."_ We glanced down a hole at the ground that appeared to reveal catacombs below us full of skulls, "Well, I've been through worse. Let's go." Both of us jumped down before we ran through the catacombs.

"This should be easy. All we have to do is take the tunnel forward," Sky said just as we stopped to see three tunnels.

"Which one?" I asked, "There's gotta be a network full of 'em to the next part!"

"How about...this one?" She pointed down the middle one. We tried the tunnel until we were in a room surrounded by tunnels.

"Oh, great..." I frowned.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Cavern)**

 **Zane: Now I know exactly how I mouse feels when it's trying to find cheese through a place it has no idea where to go.**

 **Sky: *Shakes her head in agreement***

* * *

"So... how about the one on the right?" We bolted down our guess and bumped into Owen... again. Man, we've been seeing a lot of him lately.

"Owen?" I released.

"Guys! This is an emergency! Have you seen the bathroom?!" He questioned in a hurry. We glanced at each other before we shook our heads, "AAAAHHHH!"

"What's up with him?" Sky pointed as he ran down.

"That stew in Morocco's probably catching up with him," I answered right before we sprinted down another tunnel. After a while of wandering, we heard a sound, "Do you hear water?" My cousin and I ran down toward the sound where there was a pile of big, round cheese waiting for contestants, "Yeah!"

Sky read the sign, _"Take your cheese and sail your way to where the Mona Lisa's on display,"_

"Louvre, it is," I translated while I threw down cheese grabbing the paddles. When Sky and I were on the water... well... let's just say we were pretty much a speed boat compared to everyone else. Mostly because we were able to catch up to the Surfers and Best Friends as they raced down the river. Not only that, but I noticed Carrie staring at Devin as if she was dreaming.

As we got up the stairs, Sky and I rolled our cheese to the chill zone at Louvre and came behind both teams, "5th place," Don said to us.

Eh, no biggie. We moved down a place. At least we're nowhere near last place.

It was a little bit before the Reality TV Pros caught up after the Sisters, "20 minute penalty," Don announced toward them. Great, what did they do? I mean, I've like Owen since the first season then Noah in World Tour, but how did they mess up?

"Wha-what? Why?" Owen asked him.

"Because the challenge was to _sail_ the cheese down the river," He explained.

"But it's inside me! I AM cheese!" He ate the entire thing?! I didn't think that was possible!

"That you are. Now, step aside and hope you aren't the last to place."

Sky and I gave worried looks toward each other then the Pros, "Oh, boy."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Louvre)**

 **Zane: I was gonna talk to Sky about forming an alliance with Owen and Noah, but it looks like they have their hands full.**

* * *

After more and more race past, the Pros had three minutes of their penalty left, "Oh, no. Here come the Tennis Rivals!" Owen pointed as they came up the stairs... slowly. Pete lost grip on the cheese and it rolled over Garry.

A minute later, they got back up the stairs again with the cheese. Still, they were moving so slow and snail went past them. I'm not sure whether to be worried for the Pros or just laugh at this.

"Reality TV Pros, you're penalty is up!" Don announced. Both teams jumped on the carpet at the same time with Garry's foot out.

"It's a tie! We all stay!" He cheered.

"Not quite, I'm afraid you're going home," Ooh, so close.

"What? Why?!" Pete glared.

"You're foot wasn't completely on the carpet. It was just out," Sky and I sighed in relief. Well, I guess Owen and Noah win by a nose... or in this case a foot.

Garry stood up, "WHAT?! Do you need glasses fool?! The foot was inside!" That's ironic coming from someone who's 80, or 70, or whatever.

"I do not need glasses and your foot was out," Don replied.

"It was in!"

"It was out."

"In!"

"Out."

"IN!"

"That's match and you're out!" He pointed to them to leave.

Thank goodness Owen and Noah are still in.


	3. Mediterranean Homesick Blues

"Team will start the order they finished so Cadets are... whoa, whoa, whoa!" Don stopped his introduction when he saw the Ice Dancers walk up to the carpet first, "Yesterday's winners go first Ice Capades!"

Speaking of winners, the cadets ran up to them, "Yeah, relax silver streak." MacArthur said.

"Wait your turn!" Sanders yelled at them.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: Those Ice Dancers seemed pretty serious to get first place.**

 **Zane: Serious? More like obsessed. I heard Josee wrecked part of the set just because she and Jacques got 3rd in Morocco! Plus, they keep smiling everywhere they go. Very creepy if you ask me...**

* * *

When Best Friends were about to get their tip, a mime came out of nowhere and took it. I don't know how that's possible.

"Hey! Give that back!" Devin chased after it ran away.

We took our tip. _"Take the train down to South France going down the Mediterranean for your next travel tip."_

"Let's get going!" Sky ran ahead of me. I looked back to see Junior starring dreamily at Carrie. Wow, that's kinda cool... even if he is a couple years younger.

"Hey...uh..." Junior tried to introduce himself in a low voice, "Hey, I'm Dwayne."

"Hi, I'm Carrie." She introduced herself to him. Just as they were about to shake hands, Junior's Dad shook her hand instead. Aw... so close, dude.

"Nice to meet you. Dwayne Sr." His dad introduced himself, "I see you already met Junior. This kid, ha, ha! He's a great little guy!" Wow, now he sounds like a baby.

"Dad!" He hissed.

"I mean he acts up sometimes, but that happens when they're near puberty." And there goes all his street cred. Though, I'm not sure he had one to begin with...

"Zane! Come on!" My cousin called off.

"Coming!" I ran off to catch up to her. These last few days have been eventful with Owen and Noah. I hope they catch up to us so we form an alliance. Probably could get Kitty and her sister along with us... not that I want to spend time with her or anything. Just get us toward the finals and split the million off.

Hm, it'll be hard to split off with three teams.

Anywho, we were standing in the street where cars were flying past us. Literally! Those cars weren't slowing down for anyone.

"These cars are going by too fast. There's no way we can signal them! What do we do now?" I asked Sky.

"Let's try and find the train station." She suggested, making us dart for a way toward the station. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard for us since we had no map or GPS to guide us. After about an hour or so, we were a little tired but kept going.

"Don't you think we should take a break?" I asked Sky, "We've searching for the station for at least an hour."

"We can't give up!" She refused, "We've probably missed the first train by now!" Great, we've lost top placement.

I realized the sign we ran by was very familiar, "Hey, wait a second. Didn't we pass that sign before?"

"Yeah... so?" Sky knew what I was saying, "Aw, man. We've been going in circles! We'll never find the station at this rate."

I looked out in the distance and saw sign that had stairs by it, "Hey look! There it is!" She smiled along with me, "Come on! Let's get going before we're last place!" We sped down the stairs and onto the next train where possibly the last teams were riding. I was right because the other teams were already doing other parts of the challenge.

I grabbed the tip just before Taylor and her mom, "Hey, no cutting!"

"Sorry, this is race. Can't slow down now!" I apologized even though I never really meant it, "It's a _Botch-or-Watch..._ and it's your turn Sky."

"What do I have to do?" She asked.

"Get the next tip off of the fin of a Great White Shark," We turned to see the sharks swimming in the water, showing its teeth and growling. We had wide-eyes at the scene.

"Anything more?"

"Eaten teammates results in disqualification."

"They seriously want us to get near an animal capable of eating people in one bite?!" That's surprising coming from the girl who faced that sort of stuff on Pahkitew Island.

"And you're surprised how?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

She swam into the water to get close toward the shark. From what I can see from, it looks like her original plan was trying to swim on top of it and take it from its fin. Still, Sky wasn't getting anywhere fast so she got in front of it (which wasn't a good idea in the first place) and prepared to take the tip. But the shark rose from the water, showing its teeth as if it was going to eat her. Instead of ending as an appetizer, she punched it in the stomach, making it whimper and give up the tip.

She had a defiant smile on her face while it swam away, "HA!" My cousin got back onto shore and read the next part of the challenge, "It's an _All-In._ We have to build a sand replica of the Palace of Versailles and get it approved by Sandy McCastles."

I gave a strange look to my cousin, "Is that even a real name?"

"No time to wonder, just start building!" Sky and I had already started to build our sand replica and overheard the Cadets.

"You sure this has to be big?" Sanders asked MacArthur.

She glared back at her partner, "You wanna take a chance on losing here? Either we go big or we go home!"

Emma had the same idea too, "Did you hear that? Go big or go home!"

"Same here too, Zane!" Sky suggested.

I groaned, "Do we have to? I mean as long as it looks the same-"

"Zane..."

I rolled my eyes and crossed arms, "Fine. But if we fall behind again, it's your fault." The Geniuses, however, were making a long equation into the sand. You're making a sand replica for crying out loud girls! Don't make it more complicated than it is.

Father and Son were running past us towards the next part of the challenge. That was when Kitty got our attention, "Aw, look at the cute little castle." We saw they had passed with a tiny replica of the palace.

"Hold the sand phone. It doesn't have to be big?!" MacArthur groaned. Told you!

"New plan: it doesn't have to be big." Emma commanded her sister.

"Yeah, you don't say Eisenhower." She glared at me after my sarcastic remark, which made me grin. That and Kitty laughed.

After building our replica of the palace, McCastles... still not sure if that is a real name... checked ours and approved of it.

Sky read the next tip, "We have to take a speedboat down to the Southern tip of Iceland where The GPS will guide to where the chill zone is," Her face into a confused look, "Iceland?"

I didn't feel like questioning the challenge, "Let's just hope we get there fast. We lost a lot of time back from searching the station," Both of us dashed toward the docks where the speedboats were.

"Let's take this one!" My cousin pointed to the one right in front of us.

I tried to start it, but it kept stalling every time, "Ah! Come on you piece of junk!" I kicked which got it starting immediately, "There we go." I drove the speedboat down to Iceland where we saw the Reality TV Pros passed by us.

"Where did they come from?" Sky asked.

I shrugged, "Beats me," They sure made an epic comeback.

We had parked near the boardwalk and ran right behind the two of them and finished right after them, "Acrobats: 3rd place," Don announced.

"YES!/Still got it!" Sky and I cheered.

After Emma and Kitty scored 9th place, two big people came to the chill zone for some reason, "Who are you and who are you?" Needless to say... Don was confused, "Are you on this show?"

I'm pretty sure they aren't...

* * *

 **A/N: And that's where I'm gonna end the chapter because... well, why not? It's kind of a humorous cliffhanger.**


	4. Bjorken Telephone

Okay, it's been pretty hectic lately with Owen eating cheese back in Paris, plus Sky and I getting lost on our way trying to find the train station. I've told her my idea with forming an alliance with the Reality TV Pros and she said it was a good idea since they did have experience with competing reality shows in the past, even though we were once in the previous series ourselves.

So things are off to a good start at least.

After Owen and Noah got their tip, we took ours and Sky read it, _"Take a bus to the geyser field of Geysisgil for your next tip."_

We ran ahead with the Reality TV Pros at our side, other teams behind us, and caught up with the Ice Dancers who were waiting at the bus stop.

Stephanie waved to them, "Hi!"

"Don't even think about getting on the bus before us!" Jacques exclaimed while directing a glare at us with his partner. They do realize it's a bus right? We're all getting off on the same stop and bus.

"You can't stop making me think of it." MacArthur said with her own back at them, "Get out of my head!"

Soon, we and the Reality TV Pros were caught up in the middle because of their argument, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" The cadet got up in their faces and ours.

"Some personal space here?" I interrupted their argument.

"Uh, guys?" Noah got our attention, "The bus." Wow, I didn't even notice it pulling up behind us. Nevertheless, we pulled ahead and took the front of the bus.

After a short ride, all of us ran to the Don Box received the next tip, _"An All-In: Broken Icelandic Telephone..."_

I finished the rest of it for Sky, _"Teams must push the button down on the Icelandic Telephone to hear 'Please give me my next travel tip'... in Icelandic... with perfect pronunciation._ _Then run across the field of hot springs and repeat the sentence to the Icelandic local."_ We looked to see the geysers erupting and the local at the other side, "That is a long walk..."

"Come on!" Noah ran ahead of us where the first three teams were ahead of us already.

"Ooh, look a speaker box," Owen pointed ahead to the telephone, "We can order food here, then carry on with the challenge!"

I shot him an unimpressed gaze, "No, Owen. That's where we're supposed to hear Don say the phrase in Icelandic. We're not getting-"

"YAY!" He darted ahead of us and pressed the button of the telephone, making me sigh.

 _"Vinsamlegast gefa mer mina travel abending,"_ It said as the rest of us arrived.

"Wow, they must speak a different language here..." Sky facepalmed at Owen's comment.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: Okay so, Owen's a lot of things: big, lovable, a goofball, party dude, *shrugs with a sheepish smile* 'not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed' kind of guy...**

 **Zane: I actually made a list of things he is with a pen and I ran out of paper... and ink.**

* * *

 _"...travel abending."_

And after many times of hearing the box, Owen still at the time trying to order food, "Watang's rice, garlic shrimp, house noodles, and egg rolls please."

The seconds bus with the other teams had just arrived, and we didn't have time for fooling around (even though it was unintentional), "No time, let's move!" Noah replied. The four of us ran across the geyser field to catch up with the other teams, but...

"Uh... little help here guys?" Owen was stuck in one of the geysers. Oh, you're junking me.

"Ugh, seriously?" Sky groaned.

We tried to pull him out, but the dude needs to lose some weight, "Aah, aah! I'm stuck!" We lost our grip on him, "Tell my parents I lived a good life!" After that, the geyser he was stuck in erupted and he flew into the air, "WOO HOO! AH-HA, HA! AAAHHH!" Then he landed in another geyser with his head stuck inside this time.

"Is he gonna be okay?" My cousin pointed to him.

"He'll be fine," Noah shrugged, "After all he did survive three seasons with Chris and Chef."

"Point taken." We ran across the field to the Icelandic native where Owen and Noah tried first and pronounced it wrong.

Sky was up for it, but she kept struggling until the Reality TV Pros came back, "Vinsalmetrast... AGH! Mer fifa?! UGH! Winslammecast...? Uh-"

"Vinsamlegast gefa mer mina travel aubending." I said in Icelandic before she gave us the next travel tip and I thanked her, "Takk!" I looked to see them stare at me in shock, "What?"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: But Zane... h-how did you... I mean what... I... WHAT?!**

 **Zane: *Smiles* I took Icelandic as my second language two years ago.**

* * *

When we got our phrases right we received the next travel tip where we would travel off to a national park. The four of us took off in the second helicopter. When it landed, we grabbed the next travel tip.

I read it aloud, "It's an _Either-Or: Feast or Fossil. Either dine on a traditional Icelandic feast or retrieve one of the intact fossils from the ice cave."_

"Ooh, let's do the feast!" Owen clapped his hands.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Um... are you sure? Because knowing this show-"

"It can't be that bad," Nice going, Lucky Leprechaun. It's bound to be terrible. We saw other people were feasting on the dinner... and it didn't look pleasant.

"Whoa-oa-oa, dude!" Geoff looked at it while Brody looked... out of focused for some reason.

The Reality TV Pros had wide-eyes, Mother and Daughter Team (who were next to us) plus Sky gagged at the sight of it and said, "Ugh, what is that?!"

I read the rest of the tip, _"Icelandic feast consists of putrefied shark, pickled herring, cured ram, broiled pompin_ , _and singed sheep heads._ Wow, that is kinda brutal but that's really not much coming me."

Taylor refused to do it, "No! Uh-uh! Not happening! We're going fossiling because ew! Barf!"

"Don't say barf!" Kelly replied, but it was too late. They both threw up just at the word.

Both of them walked off to go fossiling until Dwayne Senior came out of nowhere and took the axe, "Yoink! Pardon us!"

"Dad, slow down it's super icy!" Junior called after him.

Unfortunately, he wasn't gonna listen, "Heh, I used to curl kiddo so I know ice as much as- WHOA!" We looked into the cavern to see him crash into a rock and the axe spin toward in the air and nearly miss his head (it even cracked the rock a little).

Taylor, Kelly, Sky and I glanced at each other with wide eyes and I broke the silence, "So, who's ready to feast?" I managed a weak smile.

After recovering from seeing someone almost die from a pick axe, the Reality TV Pros and us were getting ready to eat the Icelandic dinner.

"I'm not sure I can do this Zane," Sky had a distressed look on her face.

I reassured her, "It's okay, Sky. Just close your eyes and imagine it's a regular Thanksgiving dinner." She only gulped before we started eating.

To be honest for me, it was easy but for my partner/cousin? Not so much. I mean from the Juggy Chunks from Pahkitew would really leave a mark on a person. Soon enough, we cleared our plate of all the food.

We walked over to finish line right after Owen and Noah, "5th place." Sky gagged but swallowed down her food.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: Compared to all the junk I've been fed over the years, *Smirks* it was actually kinda delicious. *Loses smiles and gestures to his cousin* But I can't say the same for Sky.**

 **Sky: *Holding her stomach as it rumbles* It was almost like the Juggy Chunks from Pahkitew *Gags again and swallows*.**

* * *

"You're eighth!" Don said to the Mother and Daughter Team after the Surfers finished, "But... you've earned a one hour penalty. Please step aside."

Taylor (the Daughter) was confused, "Wait, what?"

"After getting the Icelandic sentence wrong, you were _both_ supposed go back through the geyser field. But only Kelly did."

"UGH! Way to go mom!" She glared at her mother. I rolled my eyes in response. Ah, yes sure. Blame your mother for something that's clearly your fault. Yeah, way to go trash-hole.

After the Surfers finished their leg of the race, Dwayne and Junior came to the chill zone.

"Father and Son, you're the ninth team to arrive," Don said them, making them cheer.

"WAIT!" One of the vegans, Laurie had arrived and accused them, "That's our fossil!"

Junior groaned, "I knew something was wrong."

Dwayne pushed the fossil back to them and sighed, "Fine, here you go."

That was until Don stopped them, "No sharesies! You'll have to try again." He told the Vegans.

"But-"

"Don't care."

"But-"

"Don't care."

"BUT-"

"Don't care." Don walked off.

Laurie glared daggers at Dwayne, "THE GODDESS OF KARMA WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Hm, I guess some people can't take losses very well.

But don't worry... the Vegans came back! Well, not as soon as you think.

"For sure our penalty's up now?" Taylor asked Don.

"Not yet," He answered back, "Oh, and here they come!" He pointed to the Rockers and Vegans, who were racing toward the finish line. After a few seconds of Taylor and Kelly nervous glancing, Don called, "Penalty over!" They both hopped over, "13th!" The Rockers had pulled ahead of the Vegans, "Rockers, 14th." So like I said, not as soon as you think, "Well, my meat-eating Vegans, you're the last team to arrive."

Needless to say, they didn't look too good.

Don smiled at them though, "But this is a non-elimination round. You get to stay!"

Laurie gasped in shock, "I ate animals... FOR NOTHING?!" Uh, oh...

"Um..." Don returned a fearful look before he was tackled and just got the living daylights beaten out of him. Sky and I flinched at the beating, not to mention gave nervous glances at the scene, while the others looked in shock, "OH-HO! SECURITY! OH! NEXT TIME ON-OW!- THE RIDONCULOUS RACE..." He was thrown on the ground, "BRAZIL!" Laurie screamed again and pulled him back, "AAH! HEEEELLLLLP!"

Miles walked over before she threw up on the ground. Well, I learned three things today: geyser fields are dangerous, Icelandic feasts can be brutal, and apparently Vegans know how to rearrange someone's organs...

Yeesh.


	5. Brazilian Pain Forest

**A/N: It's now time for the next chapter of this story! Except, that I'm not gonna post this one. No siree. It's my birthday today and I decided to give you a treat and update...**

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 ** _Three_ chapters! That's right: THREE chapters. Consider it a three-course meal and my treat to all you readers. I'm now 17 years old. Yeah, next thing you know I'll be going in a retirement home, playing golf, living my awesome lifestyle. Anyway, enjoy this and two other chapters! **

**And review please.**

* * *

Well, what happened in Iceland SHOULD stay in Iceland needless to say. After almost throwing up an entire traditional feast, Sky, Noah, and Owen had pretty much recovered and agreed never to do that again. And Kitty told me that Emma didn't need her help so her sister ended up pushing a huge block of ice that had their fossil in it to the finish line. HA! She totally deserved after bossing her little sister around.

Not that... I would care -er -I mean would care but I just don't want see Kitty getting mistreated after all she's the cutest gi-uh... nevermind. Just get reading...

Sky and I raced toward the Don Box and I took the next travel tip, _"Take the first military plane to_ _Brazil."_

We took off towards our stop and called for a taxi. As soon as it got to the airport, we raced behind our friends and sat right next to them. I'm kinda worried for Owen and I'm pretty sure my cousin felt the same way. For one thing, I didn't want him to scream like a maniac who's about to die.

And he did just that, except he was chewing his stuffed bear nervously.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Noah: Owen's a bit nervous when it comes to military planes *Gestures to his friend, who has a fearful look*.**

 ***Flashback of Total Drama World Tour clips where Owen was almost sucked out of a plane... twice***

 **Owen: Can you blame me? I almost died!**

* * *

Owen's stomach growled and he burped out brown cotton toward me and Sky. Okay, that's just gross, "Where's Beary?"

We wiped off the cotton while Noah answered. "You just ate him."

He gasped in shock. "OH NO! Will you hold me?"

"I'd rather- NOT!" He hugged (more like crushed) Noah for comfort. Whilst the Ice Dancers didn't look too happy. Mostly because the Goths took first place when they ate the Icelandic feast as if it was nothing. They're kinda weird since they barely show any emotion.

"Well, at least it's cotton and not the food back in Iceland." I said whilst I finished wiping the cotton off of me. Suddenly the plane rumbled and shook, "What? Did we hit a speedbump or something?"

 _"Sorry folks. Flat tire. Must've rolled over something sharp."_ The pilot announced over the speaker.

"WHAT?! UGH!" Sky screamed and made a dent in the wall, scaring all the teams and even me. Sheesh, calm down She-Hulk! It's not like we'll be stranded here. But the bad news is teams on the second plane were now the first teams to take off. And we were looking losers right now.

"We're stranded here... ON A MILITARY PLANE?!" Oh boy, There goes Owen again, "AAAAHHHH!" Oh brother, this is gonna be a long wait.

After a little while of fixing, the plane finally took off to Brazil. When it landed, we took off in front of Owen and Noah and took the next travel tip just before the Daters.

"HEY! We were in front of you!" Stephanie yelled at us.

"Sorry, no time to argue." I called back to her and then read the next challenge, _"Botch-or-Watch._ It looks like I'm up. I'll have to stick my hand in a glove full of bullet ants,. I had wide-eyes the formed a disgusted look, "Euugh, this _is_ crazy."

"How bad are bullet ants?" She had same frightened expression as me.

By the time we got there, Jacques stuck his hand in the mit, screamed in pain, and his hand came out swollen, "It stings like missing golden baked oven pie half a point!" **(A/N: At least that's what I thought he said)**

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Forest)**

 **Sky: *Looking concerned* You weren't kidding said this was crazy.**

 **Zane: *Shrugs and smiles* Eh, could be worse. After all, I plan on taking some of those bullet ants from that mit and placing them on your hands while you're sleeping.**

 **Sky: *Terrified* WHAT?!**

 **Zane: *Laughs* I was joking. *Gets a glare from Sky and surrenders with a sheepish face* What? You dented the wall on the plane and scared me, Owen, and Noah back there.**

* * *

"That's how bad," I answered while I stuck my hand in it and grunted in pain as I pulled out our next travel tip with a clean hand, "Huh. What do you know? No damage."

She read the tip, "Next we have to get across the chasm anyway we can then find another travel tip in a pile of coconuts."

We approached it and found it was a some drop making me I comment, "That is one long way down. Well, here goes nothing."Both of us swung onto the vine and landed on the other side of the cliff safely.

At least we did until Noah came along and Owen landed right on top of us, "Ow."

"Sorry guys." He apologized and picked us up.

"You really need to start putting 'diet' in your vocab dude." I dusted myself off.

"I don't think that's even possible." Sky replied walking over to the oversized pile of coconuts where the other teams had started searching for their next tip. We started searching into different piles than the other teams along with our allies.

Owen, still being the gorger he is, ate an entire coconut in one bite, "It's okay! I got it down."

Noah rolled his eyes and responded, "Great. Let's wait eight hours and see if there was a tip in that one." He poked his belly with a stick.

"OW! You got me right in the coconut." Ah, Owen. What would we do without him? Oh right, have our travel tip by now since the other teams are starting to get theirs, no offense to you guys out there.

The Ice Dancers seemed to be letting the pressure get to their heads, "Let's try that area over there," Josee pointed to the pile behind them after she threw two coconuts on Owen's head revealing travel tips.

"Yes!" Noah cheered catching theirs while I caught ours.

"It's an _All-In. One team member must create a headpiece, the other a tail, worthy of walking the parade during Carnival."_ I quoted from the tip.

"Come on!" We ran to the next station where teams started to make their own dresses. Just as we were working the Ice Dancers had just finished theirs and went over to the judge, "What the heck? Didn't they just get here?" Noah pointed to them.

"About 5 five seconds ago give or take," I clarified. In the meantime, we were able to finish both parts of the costume and I was (forced) to put it on, "Why am I wearing the costume again?" Sky and I (mostly me) were being judged on the costume. We were given our next tips for the end of this challenge.

"Okay. Last part, we run to the chill zone," I read it.

"Wait, what Owen and Noah?" My cousin asked of them.

"We'll catch up. Just go!" Noah approved of us racing on.

We didn't have any more time to argue and if we did, we would've just fell behind even further. Both of us had to use a hand glider to get toward the chill zone and secure a spot for the next location. We approached the cliff and saw the gliders ready for flying.

"You ever had to glide across a gap?" Sky asked me.

"Yes... no... well, something like that," I answered unsure. She only shrugged in response and grabbed on it along with me. I did have to glide across a gap one time I was running from Shelly and her goons from the school rooftop. Long story short: it ticks her off that peanut butter and jelly gets stuck in her hair so I had to use some leftover cloth as a paraglider to land safely from the school rooftop I was jumping from.

Don't look at me like that. She was a trash-hole!

"Okay, ready?" I nodded my head to her, "Three, two, one, go!" We jumped off the edge and glided to the chill zone easily after Father and Son arrived.

"Acrobats, 7th place," Don announced.

"Eh, not too bad right Sky?" I asked her. For some reason she had wide-eyes and ran away from the chill zone in terror, "Uh, Sky? Why are you..." I was interrupted by screaming from the air and turned around at the source, "What the...?!" Before I even had time to think, I was squashed by the Adversity Twins and the Sisters... mostly Kitty.

Just when this couldn't get anymore awkward.

"Trial's over, alliance terminated." Emma groaned in pain.

"Sorry guys, I gotta go with my sis on this one." Kitty apologized to them. What? She didn't suggest forming an alliance with me? Er... and Sky plus the Reality TV Pros.

"Totally fair." Mickey replied.

"Excuse me? Can you get off me now?" I breathed out toward them. And wanted them hurry because Kitty and I were face-to-face and didn't want any joke of this being though of!

"And it looks like a painful multi-limb tie for eighth place... plus Zane and Kitty have gotten closer than ever." Don says. Well, so much for the jokes.

Kitty and I glared at him, "SHUT IT DON!" We both looked at each other blushed.

A few minutes later, Owen and Noah came crashing down in the sand after we (and I mean the Sisters, Twins, and me) had gotten ourselves out of the way. Bad news is they were stuck and a couple of teams passed them. Worst of all, Don said that we couldn't help them since Sky and I already finished. It looked like they were stuck there until the Cadets kicked them into the chill zone. Sometimes I hate fate. But at least they came in 12th place and weren't eliminated.

Other than that, I'm worried they probably won't last too long in the game.

* * *

 **A/N: And remember kids, try this at home.**

 ***Zane whispers correction***

 **Sorry, don't try this at home.**


	6. I'm Gonna Blow a Gasket

You know that time when I said that the Ice Dancers were obsessed with getting first place in any episode they could? Well, I was right to say that since they couldn't dancing and talking about how good it was to have the taste of gold in their mouths. But if they finished anything less than that, it's a completely different story. Seriously, they may be athletes but you don't hear Sky going around of how good or important it is to get first place. Even she started to see them as a real threat like me.I mean it would be nice to win an episode every once in awhile, but you'd have to be crazy or VERY skilled to get first place every challenge this show offers.

And to be honest they're acting an awful lot like Heather and Alejandro in the previous series.

Anyway, we received our next tip from the Don Box and I read it, _"Make your way to Dracula's Castle in Transylvania._ Oh boy..." I frowned at the location, "Not many good things come out of that place." I muttered the last part.

"Come on!" Sky ran toward the shuttle bus and I quickly followed behind. Much to their dismay, the Ice Dancers were angry that all the teams were allowed on the bus. I don't what's got them so fed up; it's a bus for crying out loud! They're supposed to take multiple people.

"What is this strange feeling?" I heard Crimson ask her partner.

"I fear it may be... happiness," Ennui answered. Seriously? Those two take the meaning of 'Goth' to a whole new level.

That wasn't the only eventful thing that happened. Apparently, Josee wrecked another half of the set... again since all of us were taking the same bus to the airport. Amazingly, she raged herself out and slept on the bus.

N-no, I'm serious. She raged herself to exhaustion. I don't know how that's possible either just with it.

After getting to the airport, we sprinted toward the front of the line and we're behind the Sisters I was going to socialize with Kitty and tell her my amazing stories of how I survived my life with Shelly and other troublemakers breathing down my neck everyday, "Hey Kitty," She turned back to me, "I just wanted to tell you-"

At least, I thought it they were amazing until Stephanie forced Ryan into throwing her at the front of the line making us duck.

With wide-eyes I glanced at the aftermath then turned back to her, "I'll... tell ya later."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: What were you even gonna say to her?**

 **Zane: I was actually tell her the time I loaded peanut butter and jelly into Shelly's locker and got away. *Smiles and looks to the camera* Oh and Shelly if you're watching... IN YOUR FACE!**

 **Sky: *Smug Smile* You were going to ask her to be your girlfriend weren't you?**

 **Zane: *Confused face* What the...? *Glares* No! Why would I even...? Shouldn't you be focusing on the race?**

* * *

When we touched down, the seven other teams and us raced out of the airport. Immediately we were greeted with rain and thunder at the top of the castle from a perched hill. All of us, except the Goths, were terrified.

And I'll admit, part of me wished to hold Kitty in my arms.

"Wow, Dracula's castle is even scarier in person," I commented with wide-eyes along with my cousin, who shook her head in agreement. We started running up the hill ahead of the three teams. The Cadets had just passed by us on the way to the top.

MacArthur sped by the Ice Dancers on the way up, "Move it!"

Josee glared at her and gained a devious smile. Oh boy, you know that's a bad sign, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there!" She pushed Sanders back down the mountain, tripping up Dwayne and Junior, while Sky and I barely managed to get out the way in time.

"JUNIOR!"

MacArthur turned back to the situation, "Officer down! SHOTS FIRED!" She tackled at the dancers taking them downhill. I jumped over them, while Sky front flipped out of the way.

"Think those Ice Dancers might be a threat?" I asked her while running.

"They are already," She answered back.

We raced to the Don Box where the Daters had just started celebrating... or at least Stephanie was, "YEAH BABY! First ones here!"

I cleared my throat, "Uh, tie?"

She had wide-eyes," WHAT?! How did you two catch up?"

We both smiled and replied, "Athletics."

"Wait a minute, how are we the first ones here?" Ryan questioned, "The Goths were ahead of us."

I shrugged, "Well, Transylvania is the birthplace and home to many of the so called sacred goths so... yeah."

"EAT MUD ACROBATS!" Stephanie had called back to us while she and Ryan ran ahead to the next challenge.

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head at her, "She really needs to loosen up," The other teams at that time had arrived while I took the next tip, "It's an _All-In: Enter Dracula's Castle and find an empty coffin. Whoever has this tip must drag the coffin with their teammate inside to the graveyard and push it down an open grave._ _Complete this task to receive your next travel tip from the local gravedigger. The teammate in the coffin may not help or get out of the coffin at all,_ "I frowned while Sky look concerned, "Aw man, strength isn't really my strong point. No pun intended."

"Let's go!" Sky commanded.

While we were there, the Sister and Surfers caught up to us in the castle. We managed to work together for a short time while Brody was telling us one his and Geoff's stories, "...then he screamed _'Dude! That moose doesn't need mouth-to-mouth. It's just a head on the wall!'._ " We all laughed, even Sky chuckled a bit at it and ran ahead.

Okay, not all of us laughed. There was the joykiller Emma, who was behind us, "Time out!" Oh come on! We were just having a good time until you wrecked it, "Let's split up. Kitty and I will take this hall, you four can... go away."

Brody didn't get what she was saying anyway, "Radical idea! Cover more ground. If we find a coffins, we'll call you with our secret signal," Both of them jumped and kaw'ed like birds. It was pretty funny to watch, even Kitty took a selfie of it with her and the Surfers jumping.

"Ugh," Emma rolled her eyes.

"Come on Emma, lighten up," Of course, it wasn't me that said it. All credit goes to Sky, "I mean you should at least make friends and spend time with your sister or you'll end up like I did back on Pahkitew Island."

"Coming from her, that's saying something," I supported, "She did some... stuff back there that kinda left a bad aftertaste."

"Well, I'm not you."

Kitty gasped and pointed to us, "No wonder you two looked so familiar! I mean this is a spin-off to Total Drama so they'd have to let some of the past contestants back in," She directed to Sky, "Though it was kinda of weird when you and Dave-"

She stopped her right there by covering her mouth, "That stays in the past."

 **(A/N: Don't worry. I'll make a prequel to this story. Well, I plan on it anyway.)**

After a while, we were able to find a coffin of our own. Sky entered in the coffin with a semi-fearful look, and I started pushing her down toward the graveyard. It was a little harder than I expected, but I got the job done. In fact, I caught up to Chet, pushing his coffin with his step brother inside, and Josee, who was flipping her coffin over to the grave. I felt sorry Jacques; he must've been covered in bruises by now.

Shortly, I dropped the coffin in the hole just as Sky entered out with a dazed look on her and complained, "Ugh, did you have to be so rough?"

"Yes," I gave her the message as if saying 'We caught up to the Ice Dancers'.

Jacques got up and gasped, "Is that the gravedigger?!" We saw the a short, gray-skinned man on the other side of the graveyard.

"Well, he isn't the ice cream man!" Lorenzo was frightened.

The good news is Owen and Noah had caught up to us, "There's ice cream?! OH-HO, HO! LET ME OUT!" Owen was delighted that there could be ice cream even though there wasn't any in five mile radius, "AAH!" Noah pushed the coffin down his hole.

"Finally, you two caught up," I said to Noah. I received the next tip for our next challenge, _"Ride on horseback to the Romanian Gymnastic Training Center and find the Don Box,"_ Noah and I looked over to the horse neighing a little aggressively, "Okay, that's just unnerving."

All four of us took separate horses to get to the Don Box. Owen was too heavy for one. In fact, the horse was practically dragging its way to the center, "Come on! Giddy up horsey! We can't fall behind!"

"Seriously?" I'll be honest, I was annoyed at the scene, "He doesn't 'diet' in vocabulary?" The Ice Dancers briefly passed by us while smiling at the camera and they had a good lead... at least until they crashed into a tree, "Eyes on the road Dancers!" I called/taunted back to them as we passed them. Even Owen's horse managed to drag past them.

We all arrived at the Don Box and Sky took the next tip, "It's a _Botch or Watch,_ " She gasped in excitement, "We're doing gymnastics! EEEE!" She squealed in excitement making us boys cover our ears, "Sorry." She sent a sheepish look to us.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: I LOVE gymnastics! Ever since I was kid, I've always wanted to do the same thing my sister did and become an Olympian!**

 **Zane: *Laughs* Yeah, just try not to bleed my ears off okay?**

* * *

 _"Whoever didn't face the bullet ants in Brazil must walk a balance beam and land a split jump at the center, complete a flip at the vaulting horse, and race to the chill zone,"_ In that instant, she took off into the gym in excitement, "Let's do this!"

Ice Dancers (amazingly again) had caught up quickly, "You're not taking first from us!"

"What the heck?" Noah was just as confused as me and Owen were, "Didn't they-"

"No time! Let's just get this done already!" I said, shaking off confusion and ran inside with my friends following behind.

Josee had just finished her routine and smiled to the viewers at home, "Thank you all! Thank you!" Okay, that's just creepy.

Sky walked across the balance beam, did a split, flipped over the vaulting horse, and landed perfectly! Like a boss I should say, making everyone stare at her in amazement (even the Ice Dancers). Me? I just clapped, "Now that's gymnastics for you." I looked over and saw Noah staring at Emma as she did her routine, "Hello? Dreamer Boy?" I snapped in his face, but he still kept staring at her dreamily.

Sky walked over sensing he wouldn't move for awhile, "Maybe we should go now..." She left us behind for a second, before I ran off too. Note that I did try to snap him out of it (no pun intended). We saw the Ice Dancers just ahead of us running toward the finish line.

"I can taste it Jacques. I can taste the gold!" Josee exclaimed.

"We'll enjoy it for ya!" I taunted as we passed by them. They pushed their speed further, and we did the same thing. We were neck and neck as all of us approaching the chill zone. Sky and I did the only thing to guarantee us first place: we jumped ahead and landed on the mat of the chill zone.

"Congratulations Acrobats! You're first place!" Don announced, making we cheered, "Ice Dancers, second place."

"WHAT?!" They both screamed.

"It's okay, I mean 2nd place is practically silver so-" Sky started until Josee screamed and was destroying part of the set... I lost count how many times she's done this. All of us looked on in disbelief as she was just a one-woman wrecking machine over losing over us.

"Um..." I started, "She's gonna... rage herself to sleep right?"

"Yeah, that's what usually happens when she mad," Jacques answered as he shrugged in response. We just blinked and walked over to safety.

Surprisingly, Owen and Noah had caught up to us, "3rd place!" Don said to them.

"Woo-hoo!"

The Sisters arrived after them, "4th."

"YES!" I'd never thought I'd say this, but I kinda feel happy for Emma. KIND OF!

At least I could see Kitty's beautiful face right... uh... nevermind.


	7. Hawaiian Honeyruin

You know how I said that when it comes to Total Drama and you expect something nice it turns out to be disappointing? Well, I should know that when it comes to Chris McLean it's _always_ time to be sad. When Don's the host, then you can be happy... some or most of the time.

In fact, that was what I was going to do right after Sky received our first tip, _"Take a donkey cart to Bucharest and fly to.. Hawaii?!_ YES!" She pumped a fist into the air, "Aren't you excited Zane?" She then gave me a strange look, "Zane?"

Why would she do that? Because I was already hula dancing and singing my pants off, _"We are going to Hawaii! We are going to Hawaii! We are going to Hawaii! We are going to Hawaii!"_

What can I say? Hawaii's a paradise!

"Uh, yeah," She rubbed her head awkwardly then pointed behind her, "So we should probably get going right now and-"

"KITTY!" I ran over to her making Sky sigh, "We're going to Hawaii!"

"EEE! NO WAY!" Of course, she was excited as I was.

 _"We are going to Hawaii! We are going to Hawaii! We are going to Hawaii! We are going to Hawaii!"_ We both sung and hula danced at the same time, pretty much ignoring Emma's complaints of distracting her sister.

"Hello? Kitty! We have a race to win!" She sighed and walked away from us as we kept doing what we were doing.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Forest)**

 **Sky: *As Zane and Kitty are celebrating off-screen* I'm surprised these two haven't proposed to each other yet.**

 **Zane & Kitty: *Stops what they're doing* WE HEARD THAT!**

* * *

A few minutes later, we arrived at the donkey carts with Ice Dancers following. Not amazingly, they took control of the cart no doubt in order to try and get ahead of us. In the meantime, the rest of us were playing charades. It was Owen's turn at guessing what Kitty was doing when positioned her hands into using a camera. Although, he's not the sharpest tool when it comes to playing this game.

I'm serious. Last time he played this it took him two hours to figure out that Sky and I were re-enacting Space Jam.

"OH! OH! I'm good at this game! Um... uh... goal posts! No! Ahhh... rectangle face? Un... um... a box of candy!" Kitty and I facepalmed while Emma and Sky rolled their eyes.

"No. Are you sure you don't want me to-"

Owen cut me off and kept guessing, "Oh! Uh... cheesecake?" Seriously? That's the worst one yet.

"Click." Kitty made the sound.

"Oh! Exploding chocolate cheesecake!" SERIOUSLY! IS IT THAT HARD?!

Emma snapped before I could, "Camera! It's a camera! She said 'click'! How'd you not get that?! Did you hear that? How do you put up with this all day long?" She asked Noah, who was staring dreamily at her. What does he see in her? "Um, what's his problem? Hey, earth to weirdo?" Not a good way to get someone's attention, "Hello? Hello? Ugh," She gave up and walked back to us while I was laughing.

She caught me though, "Why are you laughing?" I kept snickering which made her shoot me a disgusted look. The cart stumbled over some rocks making Kitty fall into my arms. We both smiled sheepishly at each other.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Airport)**

 **Zane: *Shrugs* Of course what Emma doesn't know is that Noah has a crush on her. *Smiles* About time. I thought he was feeling lonely.**

 **Sky: *Smug Smile* Much like you have a crush on Kitty?**

 **Zane: *Death glare* How many times do I have to tell you?! I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON HER! *Storms Off***

 **Sky: *Concerned* All his life, Zane has never been in love or have one crush. This could be the happiest day of his life! Plus, he could break his trouble-making antics habit.**

 **Zane: *Off-screen laughing* We both know that's NEVER gonna happen!**

* * *

It didn't really matter which flights we were on because all of us were boarded on the same plane. We were even greeted with traditional orchid necklaces by the local. It scared Mickey and Jay since they were allergic. Mickey was so close to saving Jay from one; he missed by a few inches in the air. And he was so close from saving him too. It's kinda sad.

I refused the necklace, "No thanks. I'm good," She glared and forced the necklace on me (tightly to the point where I could choke) after a short tussle. In that instant, I ripped it off and gave my own death glare, "Okay, GAME ON!" I took all of the orchids in the basket and tied her up after a slightly longer fight.

This made me sigh in satisfaction, "Ah, much better." I turned to see Sky give me an unimpressed look, "What?"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: Your parents were right. You really need to break that habit.**

 **Zane: Oh, come on. It was just instinct. Besides, I'll never let it happen again.**

* * *

After they caught up, Owen and Noah were pushed down by Emma.

"This one's ours! You might as well give up now." She said to them.

What she didn't know is that if she pushed them, she pushed us too. So I did the same thing back to her, "HA! Not a chance!"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: Maybe right after this fight...**

 **Sky: *Facepalms***

* * *

Of course, Emma got back up and punched me in the face. I kicked her back when I was down, then I stood back up. She ran up to kick me, but I countered with a metal pole.

Don't even ask where I got it. **(A/N: Nice reflexes by the way. Zane: Thanks!)**

I didn't expect her to come up behind me, and paralyze me at my foot.

 **(A/N: Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you... she's coming up right behind you! Zane: *Sarcastically* Thanks. Author: You're welcome.)**

It was only a few seconds though, I knocked her back with the pole from the ground, almost fully recovered. This fight could last for days.

 **(A/N: Now you know why Zane has never been in love all his life. Zane: Shut up and stop with the author's notes.)**

"Zane, stopping fighting her! Focus on the race," Sky pulled me away from Emma before I could anymore damage.

Kitty took the next travel tip, "It's a _Botch or Watch: whoever didn't do gymnastics in Romania must dive for wedding rings_?"

I glared at Sky who was smiling; I could tell what she was about to do, "Don't even think about it," I took another tip from the Don Box, _"Botchers must dive into Hawaii's most popular wedding bay and retrieve one of rings at the bottom..."_

 _"Then swim to the beach at the tip of the bay with your partner,"_ Owen read from his tip.

"Come on!"

We all started racing to the end of the dock. Okay, almost all of us... Noah was still staring at Emma dreamily. What in the world does he see in her?

Owen ran past him, "Noah, let's go! Noah?" He turned back to him then picked him up, "Oh, maybe it's rabies," I seriously doubt that.

As soon as we got to the docks Kitty seemed a little hesitant.

"Come on Kits, you can do it," Emma said to her.

"It looks pretty deep." She replied.

"Just pretend it's the pool at Nana's condo. Only with... a lot less old people flying around. Besides, you've got Zane." She gestured to me.

I glared back instantly, "No, she doesn't!" I made a confused expression, "Wait. Yes, she does. I mean- AGH! I hate this show."

"Ready, go!" She pushed her sister in the water.

Kitty resurfaced and glared back at Emma, "You shoved me!"

"It was a push of encouragement and you're fine."

I pushed Emma down on the docks and smiled, "And that was a push of encouraging you NOT to do that to my friend!" She was ready to punch me again, until I jumped high into the air and was heading into the water, "HA! YOU'VE GOT THE REFLEXES OF A STATUE!"

 **(A/N: PuffballsUnited references here folks. Well, Henry Stickmin, but you get the point. Zane: What did I tell you about the author's notes?)**

Sky tried to warn about something, "Zane! Watch out for the-"

I interrupted her, "Don't worry Sky! I got this in the- OOF!"

I wasn't watching where I was going and hit my head on the rock. Everyone flinched at the impact and in shock.

"Zane! Are you okay?!" I thought I heard Kitty yelled in concern.

I answered in a daze, "Head I hit rock my the on hurt," I twisted my head a little, "But okay me am I think now!" I fell into the water where I shook myself back to my senses.

It was taking me awhile to find a ring down here. Worst yet, I can't stay down here too long since I didn't take a giant breath before I jumped down here. A few minutes later, I was able to find three under a rock and I took them. I gave two of them to Noah, who gave me a thumbs and swam way ahead of me. I then heard some type of screaming above me and saw Kitty and Stephanie about to be eaten by a shark. On instinct, I swam up and punched the shark in the face. Stephanie taunted it while it was running away until she realized that she let go of ring the she and Kitty were fighting over.

Kitty smirked at her with the ring in her finger and swam up to the surface. Stephanie screamed angrily for a moment then she glared at me. I only shrugged sheepishly and made a break to the surface.

"We're done here!" I yelled to Sky when my head was above water with Kitty.

"Got one!" Carrie surfaced right beside me.

"Carrie, you're the best!" Devin called to her making her squeal.

"Did you just squeal?" Kitty asked her.

She denied it, "No! Uh...I think it was a... a dolphin?"

"Sure." I joined in smirking.

Kitty gasped in excitement as Carrie swam away, "You're in love with him!"

"Okay, I am," She admitted making me and Kitty high-five.

"Why don't you tell him you want to be his girlfriend?" I questioned.

"We've been friends for so long and... anyway he has a girlfriend. But please don't say anything. Please?"

"We won't say anything," Kitty promised, "But I think someone should, you know."

"What's her name anyway?" I asked Carrie.

"Shelly," That name made me stop cold in my tracks and gaped at her, "Are you okay?"

"SHELLY?!" Could've sworn my scream broke their eardrums or caused an avalanche in the Himalayas.

"Uh..." Carrie stared at me with uncertainty, "I sense you two have a history?"

"Yeah," I crossed my arms before all of us started swimming again, "She's the reason I was forced into this show in the first place!" I placed a finger on my chin, "Okay, one of the reasons. Well, something like that." I sighed before I gave them the full story, "My parents forced me and Sky to sign up because my aunt thought she was doing too much athletic work, and my parents wanted for me to... break my... trouble... making habit." I grew more quiet at the last part.

"You two are cousins?!" Kitty was surprised, "Both of you look nothing alike!" She calmed for a second after I sent her a strange look, "Plus, you seem like a good person."

I shrugged back, "Well, it goes like this: I could either be your best friend or your worst nightmare. Why'd you think I pushed Emma back there when she shoved you and Owen? How about the time I stood up for you back in Morocco?"

"Oh... heh, heh," She scratched her head nervously in response, "Thanks... I guess?"

After the three of us climbed back on shore and reviewing our next challenge, Kitty went over to Carrie to talk her about Devin.

Meanwhile, I was talking to Owen of how Noah was acting, "So, how's it feel to be groom?" We were putting grass around our necks.

"Not too good," He answered, "I'm about to marry a dead person!"

I laughed hard, "Dead person? Ah man, you and Noah were always one of favorite past contestants."

Owen gripped onto my shoulders, "I'm serious, Zane. Look at him!" He made me turn to Noah who smiling over Emma while she and Sky were conversating, "He's drooling, smiling, acting sincere; he is so sick!"

"OR... he likes Emma," I clarified.

"But he's all goofy and awkward and... OH!" We both shared a laugh.

"He's more like no-nonsense, competitive, and sarcastic, but yeah," I explained, "That really is one serious love emergency."

"Ready, Zane!" Sky called over.

"Gotta go. Catch later Owen!" I ran over to my cousin, "Okay, let's do this and hope we don't burn alive."

"What?"

"Nothing," I replied to her.

I'll admit that walking over coals was a little harder than usual. As the Ice Dancers proved that when one of their grass skirts caught on fire and they had to go all the way to the start. We were in front of Devin and Carrie since I could handle the heat of the coals. All four of us were able to complete it in one try without catching anything on fire.

"Hey, Best Friends and Acrobats! Move it or lose it!"

Carrie gasped, "Run!"

Even though she wasn't talking us (or maybe she was), we all ran to the chill zone with the Dancers right behind us. Sky and I were able to pull ahead of all of them. Just as they were about to pass us, Jacques tripped on a rock guaranteeing all of us a better position in the race.

"Congratulations Sky and Zane! You get 2nd place," Don announced. We both cheered, "Carrie, Devin, 3rd place," Carrie laughed as Devin placed a hand on her back. Reality TV Pros and the Sisters were able to pass them too, "4th, 5th," The Ice Dancers hopped onto the chill zone, "Jacques, Josee you come in... 6th."

"6th place?! ARGH!" Josee screamed, threw down her grass skirt, and jumped on top of it repeatedly.

"Could've been worse. I mean you've could've gotten 7th." Sky tried to calm her down, but she only added more fuel to the fire. Insert the part where she went to destroying another part of the set.

I looked to Don and questioned, "Where do you even come up with the money to repair those things?"

"We don't," He shrugged, "We just replace them with the old ones."

* * *

 **(A/N: Wow, this has got to be one of my longest chapters yet... and it looks like Josee can't take losing first place very well. At least Jacques doesn't wreck the set every once in while)**


	8. Hello and Dubai

Okay, I'll be honest.

I was hoping Noah would fall in love with Emma all this time! I mean yeah, she's a lot of things: no-nonsense, competitive, a joykiller, snarky, but maybe now she could loosen up a bit. You know like me and Kitty: fun-loving, laid-back, comical, a little ditzy...

Oh...wow. Now I see why people talk about us.

After the Surfer Dudes went up, we took our next travel tip, "It looks like we're going to Dubai," Sky read from the tip, _"Make your way to the only 7-star hotel to find the next Don Box."_

"Quickly, to the airports!" I said cheesily on purpose, before I took off ahead of her.

"Zane, wait up!" She was able to catch up with me when I called for a taxi to drive us to the airport.

By the time we got there, we're bunched up with a lot of the teams already there, "Dubai, please!" Geoff voiced to the desk guy.

He typed in his computer, "Flight-leaving now time... fourteen seat. Rest on the next flight." We all cheered. Except for Dwayne and Junior, they were left behind on the second flight.

As we were about to take off, all of us walked down first class... for winners only (a.k.a Geoff and Brody). Which meant the rest of us were in regular class. When I found some seats, Sky was exercising. She really needs to take a break at some point.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"Warm-ups," She answered quickly, "It's going to be quick-flight so we have to be well-prepared and energized for the-"

"Actually, it's going to be 17 hours before we get to Dubai." I smiled, cutting her off.

Sky stopped what she was going and presented wide-eyes to me, "17 hours?!"

"Yup! That means we can finally have some well-deserved rest and relaxa-" In that instant, she was fast asleep on the seats. "Sleep tight, cuz." I sat right next to her to snooze until I heard the seatbelt sign blaring. "Hey Noah, put on your seatbelt."

In front of us, I heard Noah grunting in pain. "I know the seatbelt sign's on Zane but... why bother?" I looked up to see that Owen was right on top of him.

"Heh, it's cozy." He sheepishly admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Airplane)**

 **Zane: *Unimpressed face* From here, it looks like Noah's trying to sleep with a brick wall as a blanket.**

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Owen: Flying's the scariest. I usually squeeze my teddy bear, Beary, to get through it. But... I swallowed him *smiles* so now I squeeze my Noah! *Hugs/Crushes Noah***

* * *

"Hey, want the window seat?" Owen offered him.

He refused though, "Uh, gonna pass." Wanna know why? Because Emma and Kitty were right next us. Key name: **_Emma_**.

 **(A/N: And _Kitty_. Zane: SHUT UP AUTHOR! I KNOW WHAT'S BEST!)**

"Oh really?" He laughed, "But you always want the window seat!" He spoke loudly. Owen and I laughed as Noah glared.

"Yeah, why would you wanna stay there lover-boy?" I mockingly questioned. Noah went to reading a magazine as Owen and I were snickering again, "Okay, enough jokes let's buckle in."

I easily put on my seatbelt. But Owen was struggling with his until he farted making us cough (it even startled Sky awake), "Seriously, dude?" I glared at him.

"Sorry airplane food." He apologized to everyone.

"I'm gonna hang in the toilet where it smells better." Noah retorted. Just as he exited out, he bumped into Emma. Looks like they both had the same idea. A little while later, they were talking about us and how intolerable Kitty, Owen, and I were (well Emma talked about me being a jerk to her, and Noah didn't really care much). Nothing about Sky though; I guess you can say she was the 'perfect one' (she went back to sleep though).

"Ugh! They're both so snarky and full of themselves!" Kitty complained.

"How are they not a couple yet?" Owen asked.

"Makes me wonder too." I joined in, "I used to hate Noah, but then he kinda grew on me."

"It's Emma. She's still recovering from her last break up." She explained.

"Oh, still fresh?" Owen asked.

"It was three years ago."

I responded with an eyebrow raised, "Wow, that must've been a rough three years."

"Yup. Getting those two together is gonna take a lot of work." The three of us fistbumped.

"Wait, what about you and Zane?" Owen asked, "I've heard you two are kinda having a thing..."

"Um..." We both blushed in response.

I started, "Well, you see that's not entirely true. We actually... uh... I gotta be over there!" I ran to the front.

"Me too!" Kitty ran the same direction.

"Don't follow me. You'll give it away!" I whispered to her.

"I wasn't thinking straight okay?!" She murmured back.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Airplane)**

 **Zane: *Frowns while crossing arms* Okay, fine! So I have a crush on Kitty. Big whoop! But I'm not letting ANYONE know that. Not even Sky. I intend to keep it that way because... *keeps talking and not noticing his cousin sneaking into his confessional right behind him* well... why not? But I shouldn't worry; I'm the master of keeping secrets.**

 **Sky: *Snickers softly***

 **Zane: Nothing can... *Senses something's wrong* get... past... *Turns around* A-HA! *Sees no one is standing there, she's right behind him folks* What the? *Scratches head in confusion* I could've sworn she was right behind me...**

 **Sky: *Chuckles quietly again***

* * *

After landing in Dubai, we all took the shuttle bus which drove us right next to the Don Box in front of a 7-star hotel.

Sky took the tip and read from it, "It's an _Either-Or: Serve or Squeegee. Teams can either serve back a ball launched from the world's toughest launcher, the Tennis, Menace, or wash an entire column of windows from this building._ "

I smiled knowing what we're about to do, "Let's turn the Tennis Menace into scrap!"

Surprisingly, Sky stopped and placed a hand on my shoulder, "I think we should wash windows."

I was dumbfounded, "WH-WHAT?! But Sky, we're both athletic. We'd be able through the challenge in no time!"

"Just trust me on this Zane," Okay, just what are you planning? "Besides, Owen and Noah doing the same thing." She pointed to the boys as they were running into the hotel, along with the Sisters, "We gotta stick with to our alliance."

I glared at her, "This wouldn't be an attempt to get me and Kit-" Before I finished, she started pulling me into the building against my own will. As soon as we were at the top, we were met by strong winds and a long way up.

"Hey, guys!" Owen greeted to us, "I thought for sure you'd do the tennis challenge."

"So did I!" I yelled over the winds, "But I guess someone needs to clean up their act,." I directed the insult/pun to my cousin. Yeah, I know. It's terrible.

She tried to assure me, "It's just washing windows safely from the platforms. How dangerous could it be?" Just right after she said that, one of the window cleaners fell down, formed into a fireball, hit the ground, and disintegrated into nothing. I sent her an angry look, making her scratch her nervously.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Death glare to Sky* When I die, stay away from my funeral.**

* * *

Needless to say, I was right about washing windows at least five or seven stories from the ground. It was more dangerous than it looked and sounded in the first place. A strong gust of wind blew our platform a little. This is probably a bad time to mention that I hate heights right about now.

"Uh, how is this safer than doing the tennis challenge?" I questioned as I gained back my balance.

"We're in alliance with Owen and Noah, remember?" Sky reminded me. Oh, right. AGH! Why didn't we make an alliance with another team?

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have minded if we faced the Tennis Menace. As long as we work together for the most part and get to the chill zone in one piece!" I countered back.

"Just help me move to the next window, okay?" She's going to be the death of me someday.

We pulled the levers at the exact same time. Of course, that had to be the moment where an even stronger gust of wind, blew our platform dangerously unbalanced where I slid off and held on the ledge.

"ZANE! Are you okay?!" Sky called holding onto the wire from the other side.

"Just peachy," I replied back sarcastically/truthfully, "As long as the wires hold us, we'll be perfectly safe." At that second, the wire from where I was holding onto the ledge had snapped, making it to the point where we were hanging straight down, "Aw, come on!"

"Quick, climb up here!" She yelled at me. I started doing so as fast as I could, "Come on, hurry up Zane!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!" I retorted. Good news is since the platform is facing down, we can use it the top part of it stand. As we both stood there, holding the wire for safety, the glass part of it started to crack a little, "We need get Owen and Noah down here now!" At that moment, I heard Kitty screaming then tennis balls being aimed towards us. We covered ourselves with one of our arms to avoid being hit, the other still holding on to the wire, "HEY, WATCH YOUR AIM! FRIENDLIES!"

"KITTY, HELP!" Emma was almost in as much danger as we were. She was barely hanging onto the platform.

"EMMA, NO!" Noah turned back to see her fall in that instant. In a split-second, he was able to catch her.

They stared into their eyes for a second until I interrupted them, "HELLO?! WE'RE HANGING DOWN HERE TOO!" In that instant, Kitty was screaming in terror, "Kitty?!" I saw her falling down a far distance away from me. In that moment, I boosted Sky up higher to the point where she was on the platform with Owen, Noah, and Emma who were slowly descending toward us. I cut loose the wire that was holding the platform, grabbed my right hand onto it, wall run on the windows, catch her in my left hand, wall run back to where I came from, and land where everyone else was with Kitty in arms.

Kitty was more than shocked, "Z-Zane! How did you... I mean... you just wall-ran to save-"

I stopped her there, "How about we just stick to tennis?" She only laughed in response then kissed me on the cheek, making both of us turn red while smiling, "Um, I guess that works too..."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: I'll be honest, even I never expected to do that. And as cheesy as it sounds, I never realized how important she was until I saved her.**

 **Sky: *Puts her hand together and smirks* Aw, you do love her!**

 **Zane: *Blushes, scratches head, and sheepishly smiles* Okay, I do.**

* * *

"Glad we're alive, but I'm bummed we're gonna tie for last," Emma commented.

Kitty glared at her, "Could you be more negative?"

"Sure, she implied we'll finish," Noah remarked, shrugging, "Plus, we only have one squeegee between us and you have no water."

"It's not over yet," Owen assured us, "I know how to win this! But you guys have to join our alliance first."

"Wait, you've been in alliance with them?" Emma questioned him, gesturing to me and my cousin.

"Ever since Iceland." Sky answered.

"And they're great once you get to know them," I supported, flashing them a smile, "Well, kinda," Kitty clapped in excitement while Emma and Noah shrugged.

"I will be your squeegee!" Owen announced. He then ripped off his shirt, poured water all over himself, and pressed against the window. I feel sorry for whoever's seeing this, "Let her drop!" Emma and Kitty pulled the levers at the exact time, as Owen was being to slow our descent. We crashed, but no one was injured.

"WOO! Go Owen!" Kitty cheered. At that moment, he dropped on the ground.

"Way to take one for the tema big guy." Noah complimented.

Owen laughed as he put his shirt back on, "I feel like I just took a rollercoaster through a car wash."

Emma took the next tip from the Don Box, _"Find the chill zone in the Gold Souk._ The what?!"

Sky took another tip from the Don Box, _"A normal plaza where everything is made of gold. Travel there by taxi, some of which are gold... literally."_

 **(A/N: When I watched this, I saw a guy pass by with a gold ice cream cone. I wanna new life right now... I want this one.)**

I saw taxis arrive made of pure gold making me smirk, "They really do like their gold here."

Josee, along with Jacques who had just finished cleaning the windows, had pointed forward, "To the gold! NOW!"

We stepped into the taxi and we drove off to the plaza. When it stopped, we all sprinted out and into the Souk. Seriously, I don't think I've even seen this much gold in my life.

"Remember everybody, we're looking for a _gold_ chill zone." Owen reminded us as we were running through the mall.

I laughed in response, "I'm pretty sure _all_ the chill zones are gold."

"Found it!" Sky pointed to an open door and stopped by her.

"Ladies first." Noah gestured to them. Oh, look someone's a gentlemen.

"Really?" Emma was surprised, "Why would you... I mean... I don't know what to say."

"Maybe just get in before I another team shows up."

"Oh right. Uh, what about Zane and Sky?"

"Go in." We remarked.

"Thanks!" They both ran inside and scored first place.

"After you two." We both gestured to Owen and Noah.

"Really?" Party Guy smiled to me.

"Well, we are in an alliance." I shrugged, "Besides, we're way ahead of everybody."

"Thanks!" After they ran in, we raced to the chill zone.

"Sky and Zane, 3rd place," Don announced to us. A little while later the Ice Dancers finished, "Welcome to the chill zone, you've come in 4th," Jacques and Josee gasped until he revealed he was joking, "Kidding! The twins got here way before you!" Oh, right! I forgot to tell ya guys... Mickey and Jay came after us. It's amazing that they managed to catch up.

"Me and Mickey took the non-volt caps; they're a lot faster." Jay explained.

"You mean... WE'RE FIFTH?! We didn't even make the podium at all again?!" Jacques yelled in disbelief.

"What podium? There is no podium." Don remarked while raising an eyebrow.

"There's ALWAYS a podium!" Josee strained while her eye twitched.

"Hey, at least you moved up a position."

And the best part: no part of the set was destroyed this time!

*CRASH*

Oh... she's destroying the store instead.

In other news, Best Friends just came ahead of Mother and Daughter (after they both decided to shop instead of race). The really for real best part: Kelly finally stood up to Taylor by forcing her to hang from a platform until she apologized. Then after that, they got along pretty well didn't mind about the race anymore.

Speaking of which, I wonder if that might be a problem with the Ice Dancers when we face them later on.

* * *

 **A/N: Remember, licking doorknobs is illegal on other planets! Huh? Oh sorry, wrong note. I meant to say, Josee really needs to stop destroying stuff at the end.**


	9. New Beijinging

**A/N: Well, since I can't think of an intro, let's just get right to action!**

 **Zane: But I have one-**

 **Author: Too late. TIME TO RACE!**

* * *

After our friends went up (and a few minutes of try cooling off Josee. Thank you Jacques), Sky and I ran up to take the next travel tip from the box.

 _"Find your next tip at the World Famous Bird's Nest Stadium,"_ I read aloud then pondered on it "Hm, sounds familiar."

"Come on, let's go!" Sky voiced, before we took a taxi to the airport. As usual, we were on the first flight to our next destination. We found out that the stadium was in Beijing, China; I thought it sounded familiar. As it touched down, we ran to the shuttle bus which was taking us to the stadium.

"Thanks again for letting us take the win yesterday." Kitty thanked us.

"No problem." Owen laughed.

"Your welcome." I sing-songed.

"Just don't expect us to return the favor. We have an alliance, but it's still a competition." Emma replied. Noah looked dreamily at her again.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Noah: *Smiles* Yup, she likes me.**

 **Owen: *Laughs then Sings* _Noah and Emma sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-_ *Gets slapped by Noah, who is glaring* OW!**

 **Noah: How about you make fun of Zane and Kitty?**

 **Owen: Okay! *Sings* _Zane and Kitty sittin' in a tree! K-I-S- *_ Gets slapped by Zane on his right arm* OW! Come on!**

* * *

 **Sky: So, why won't you admit your feelings to Kitty?**

 **Zane: *Crosses arms* Because I don't know if she feels the same way.**

 **Sky: Zane. She kissed you when you saved her.**

 **Zane: So? That doesn't mean anything. You can save someone's life the epic way and all they do is walk on by and- oh who am I kidding? *Unsure Grin* She probably does feel the same way.**

 **Sky: *Smiles* See?**

 **Zane: But I'm still gonna wait.**

 **Sky: *Sighs***

* * *

After the bus had stopped, we exited and found the Don Box spraying our travel tips on the sidewalk.

Sky caught one of them in mid-air, "An _All-In: fly over the the stadium, attempt a jump, and land into the hole of the stadium."_

"Donut! WOO-HOO!" Owen cheered.

"Uh..." When we boarded the plane, we got a good look of the stadium and the donut. No, it's not the one you eat.

Needless to say, he was sad, "That's the donut? Disappointed!"

"Well, what did you expect? A REAL giant donut in Beijing?" Sky shrugged.

"Yes..."

She stared at him wide-eyed and fell down on the floor. After a few seconds of recovering, all of us were strapped in with parachutes on our backs. Well, Sky's in the back, I was strapped in front of her.

Also, Noah tried to flirt with Emma, "So uh... I guess they... have our backs." He cringed. Like I said: _tried_.

"Yup, that was horrible." She replied right before she whispered something to her sister. The alarm blared signaling the door to open.

"Jump time! Ready?" Kitty said to me.

"Absolutely... not." I muttered the last part to myself.

As if he heard me, Noah stated, "How hard could it be?" Way to go.

We jumped out of the plane and pulled the parachutes. Unfortunately, it was REALLY windy so we were blown back. Sky and I faster than the rest of them because it looks like no one checked all the 'chutes. Sky and I smashed right into the sign behind everyone else.

I dazily got out of the strap and groaned while smiling, "Hey, that wasn't so bad." Of course, that was the moment where a giant ball of yarn rolled over least it wasn't the common cartoon boulder.

 **(A/N: Try and guess this reference. Seriously, I forgot this one. I think it came from a movie...)**

Yeah, I broke the fourth wall...ish. Sue me.

"Are you okay, Zane?" Sky (I think) moaned in pain.

"Yes grandma, I would like another snickerdoodle." I answered back, using my arms to get my face off of the ground, then fell back down again.

After a few minutes of recovering, strapping out, and re-arranging some bones (that last one was just me), we were running to the stadium. Okay well, everyone else was running back to the plane to jump again; I was being carried by Owen.

"This time less screaming, more steering!" Emma commanded.

"I'll see what I can do but no guarantees." Kitty replied.

This time we tried it again and this time we were able to land in the stadium. Noah tried ask Emma what kind of movies she liked until he was squashed by Owen. They got back up and I was picked back again by you know who to the Don Box.

"Why am I being carried again?" I asked no in particular.

"Your legs fell asleep when you were rolled over by the giant ball of yarn." Sky reminded.

"I am perfectly, one-hundred percent fine!" I denied, "You can put down now," Owen did so. I managed to stand for a few good seconds until I fell back and Kitty caught me, "Okay, maybe just a few more minutes?" I sheepishly requested.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: Where did that giant ball of yarn even come from?**

 **Zane: I'd answer that, but I'd break this story's physics.**

 **Sky: *Raises an eyebrow* What?**

 **Zane: Oops, I did it again...**

* * *

"Another _All-In: One of the team members must assemble a skewer of Beijing street food while the other has to eat it,"_ Sky read from the tip. All of us ran to the market where all the delicacies were fresh.

Very fresh... like... _alive_ fresh.

No prob for me eating it. Emma made Kitty eat hers, and Noah... commanded Owen to skewer so he... would eat it...what?

"You're gonna eat for this part right?" My cousin asked me.

"Of course, I would. I mean I wouldn't want you to turn into a zombie like you did in Pahkitew." We both cringed at the thought it.

After Sky was done, she handed me the street food and I took a bite from it. After I gave wide-eyes, I swallowed it down and my cousin walked over to me concerned.

"Are you gonna be okay?" She asked.

"No..." I told her. She placed her hands up to cover her face until I continued, "This stuff needs hot sauce." Sky returned me an 'Ugh, are you serious?' face, "What? There's just some food in the world you can't have without it." I kept eating until I finished as the same time as Kitty.

Noah swallowed his in one bite. Turns out, the food was too hot for him and got stuck in his mouth. It also didn't help that he kept spitting food over Emma who was nagging him to close his mouth. He kept getting it all over Emma that it made her throw up in the bucket.

"Dude, you are trippin'." I replied looking at the scene. He only sighed almost splattering me. I covered my face with my hands, "Hey, don't sigh with your mouth full!" After finishing the challenge, we received the tip from the vendor and I read it, "It's a _Botch-or-Watch_. You're up Sky."

For this challenge, she had to pull me from here to the Great Wall of China by rickshaw. It's harder than it looks, but we kept up with our friends. Well, at least until Emma and Kitty lost both wheels, and Owen destroyed them. We stopped as we saw them stuck on the road.

"Hey, you guys need a hand?" He offered.

Noah walked over to Emma, "Act normal." He had wide-eyes, and she looked at him strangely, "That part wasn't supposed to be out loud. I was talking to myself. How could this get more awkward? Also to myself."

Could you be anymore awkward?

"Please stop." She pleaded.

"Okay." He smiled awkwardly. Man, I'm new at this and even I couldn't mess up that much. Then again...

"So how do we get to the wall without being penalized? We can't ride in the same rickshaw."

"I got a plan that just might work," I responded, snapping my fingers, "But I'll need your help Noah... and it's gonna be painful," He raised a finger as if he was gonna say something, however I stopped him, "Don't jinx it!"

It was a plan that would make up for Noah's mistakes along the way and win Emma's heart over. But he knew I wasn't lying when I said it was going to be painful. The plan was to hold the part where the wheels held while our partners were driving.

"Is this too fast guys?" Sky asked, glancing back toward us.

"Nope, it's good!" Noah called back. Speak yourself.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Kitty asked us.

"Of course this hurts... a lot," I answered while looking at her, "But it's not like getting rolled over by a giant yarn ball and I have the best view in China." She giggled and her cheeks turned pink in response.

"And I'm doing this for Emma; she's very pretty." Noah added. It was Emma's turn to blush. Now you're getting somewhere Casa-Noah!

We piled out of the rickshaws after getting to the wall, Kitty took selfies of me and her while we were looking for the chill zones.

"So how are your hand and legs?" She questioned.

"They're perfectly fine and awake," I answered, "I can't say the same for Noah." Turns out his hand was swollen... REALLY swollen! My was perfectly fine and at its normal size.

"How are they even still normal?" Kitty inspected one of my hand.

I shrugged, "Probably from the gloves I'm wearing. I heard they made this from strong material."

"Oh, look. Romeo and Juliet are holding hands already," Sky teased us.

"Ha, ha, laugh it up cuz," I retorted, while we both turned around so she wouldn't see how red our faces were.

In other news, Noah didn't say anything out loud while he and Emma were staring at each other.

Eventually, we all found the chill zone, but only one of us could take 2nd place.

"Ladies first." Noah offered.

Before her sister could step into the zone, Emma stopped her, "Uh-uh. You guys first, all of you. An alliance should be fair and it's your turn."

"I like you."

"Just get on the carpet you dork."

Needless to say, Sky and I came in third again before the Sisters. So we've been staying in the top positions for a while. And so have the Ice Dancers, but they still weren't too happy about it.

"FIFTH... AGAIN?!" Josee screamed in disbelief.

"Yes, fifth always comes after fourth you know. The numbers are always sequential." Don explained.

Hey, at least nothing was destroyed this time!

*CRASH*

Ugh, nevermind...

The Rockers soon came up in last, but much to their surprise and joy it was a non-elimination round. *Insert some kind of celebration music that is stopped by a record scratch*

Yeah, yeah, I know. Hurray, joy, wa-hoo. Just read the next chapter. The author's making me say and think this...

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, everyone! King Goody Two-Shoes here bringing you another author's note at the bottom. I decided to bring this chapter up earlier this usual since it feels like forever since it last updated even though it's been four days.**

 **Also like I said in chapter 7, I will make a prequel to this story, but I don't know which season to start off from. I feel like starting all the way back to Total Drama Island, but to me World Tour makes a little more sense with the start of Zane's antics. Let me know in your reviews in where I should start for the prequel of this and thank you for your support on this and any other stories.**


	10. I Love Ridonc and Roll

Well after a few accidents in China, it's probably safe to say that I now have a fear of parachuting in a windy city. HA! Just kidding... maybe. Though it's probably safe to say that you should watch out for giant yarn balls rolling your way. Those things aren't exactly as soft as you think they are.

Anyway, Sky and I were up first after Owen and Noah, " _Fly to Oulu, Finland."_

"Finland?" She asked.

"Yup." I confirmed. We ran to the the stop to get a taxi, but they were flying past us! Literally, it looked like the drivers wouldn't stop for anything, "Taxi! Hello?! Need a ride here! Aren't you guys gonna stop?! Come on! We need to go to the airport!"

Sky stomped onto the road and screamed, "HALT!" In that instant, the taxi stopped right in front of her, we got in, and she politely requested, "Airport, please." The driver took off to our location.

Wow, she went from aggressive to cool-headed just like that. My cousin is something alright.

Anyway, after a short flight, we arrived in Finland, rode another taxi, and approached the Don Box for our next challenge.

"YES! First ones here!" Sky cheered.

"Wait a sec." I stopped for a moment, "Owen and Noah were ahead of us. How'd they fall behind?"

She only shrugged in response and took the next tip from the Don Box, "It's an _All-In: Finnish Spa Day. Teams have to sit in a dry sauna-"_

I smiled at the thought of relaxing, "That sounds awesome!"

 _"-fully clothed at the highest heat for ten minutes."_

I frowned at the challenge, "Okay, less awesome." Remember back in Morocco when I said I can handle the heat? Well, this is a steamed room we're talking about so it's going to be as hard as it is for everyone else.

 _"Each one has just enough room for two teams. Since there's an odd number, a third team can do the challenge too. After the sauna, collect a tip from the next Don Box by crossing the semi-frozen river."_ We both looked over at it and saw a baby seal sneeze to slide off the ice.

"Well, this could be as hard as it looks." I sighed then replaced it with a determined expression while pounding my fists together, "Let's do this!"

She put a hand in front of me, "Hold on! Let's wait for Owen, Noah, Emma, and Kitty first before we do this."

"Because...?" I remembered the important thing, "Oh, right our alliance."

She gave a smug smile, "And your girlfriend."

I shot back a death glare, "No."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Outside Saunas)**

 **Zane: See, what Sky's trying to do is get me and Kitty even closer. I don't why you're doing this. You should be focusing on the race instead of romance.**

 **Sky: Hello? Do you need a reality check? Never have or been in love in your life, break bad habit, and become a good person. Besides, we have first place!**

 ***Rockers Enter Sauna***

 **Zane: *Frowns* Second place.**

 **Sky: Don't worry, they'll be here soon.**

 ***Goths Race Into the same one as Rock and Spud***

 **Zane: *Slightly Angry Expression* Third place.**

 **Sky: *Uneasy* We're still in the top placement like we've always been.**

 ***Adversity Twins, Ice Dancers, Cadets, and Daters Pass By***

 **Zane: *Death glare* Seventh.**

 **Sky: Where are they? *Reality TV Pros and Sisters Arrive* *Smiles* Oh, they you are! We were just wondering where you were.**

 **Zane: *Shrugs* Not me. I was gonna bail. *Nervous* Of course, it would've been great if you got here sooner... *Sighs* Ah, nevermind.**

* * *

"Anyway, the saunas can fit six of us inside and I figured we all should go try together since we're in alliance," My cousin explained. Ah, yes. Use the excuse of being in alliance to bring a double date to the party. Real professional.

"A sauna, huh? Sounds hot." Kitty was mostly mocking Emma.

Give it a few moments, it'll be _hot_.

 **(A/N: I'll count it off: 3, 2, 1...)**

"SO HOT!" She complained as we were sitting in the sauna sweating bullets. See? "Has it been ten minutes yet?"

"Close." I groaned in exhaustion, sitting next to her while giving a weak smile, "Ten seconds." She only moaned then laid on my shoulder, "Hey, at least you have me." Instantly regretted saying that instead of 'us' because everyone was staring at me, "Er...I mean _us_. Have us!" I managed a nervous laugh.

After ten minutes, Kitty picked up from what it looks like a bucket of water and offered to splash it on me, "What would you like a cool off?"

I gave her a fearful look, "No, thanks! That-" She did it anyway and poured it all over me, "-was Owen's sweat." I pointed he sat in buckets full of his sweat.

"I-I am like a sweat volcano," Owen groaned.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" She screamed as if she did the biggest mistake of her life. Before I could even move a muscle she was already pulling me toward the river, "Don't worry, I'll fix this Zane!"

"No, no, NO!" I tried to stop her, "It's good! It's okay! You don't have to put me in the river! You can just-" She threw me into the water as Goths were standing, taking them down with me too. Needless to say, I was frozen solid when I resurfaced, "Put... me... down." And that's two mistakes she made in only ten seconds flat. Don't get me wrong. I can handle dry heat, but the cold? Not so much.

I could at least see her scratching her head and laughing sheepishly, "Whoops." Sky only sighed and facepalmed at the scene.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Outside Saunas)**

 **Zane: *Head is free from the ice as Kitty tries to break the rest of his body out frantically* Well, that went about as poorly as it could've.**

 **Kitty: I'm so sorry! I just acted in the heat of the moment!**

 **Zane: *Manages a weak smile** Kitty, I said it was okay... uh... I lost count after 17.**

* * *

"YEAH!" Owen jumped right into the river and became frozen like me. Note: I'm still trying to get thawed out by you know who. Emma and Noah had just arrived at the river.

"Whoa! That looks way too cold." Emma said.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Noah replied. Really? Just tell it to the two friends who are now getting freed from a new ice age. He jumped in anyway and was freezing, "S-s-see?"

After getting completely de-iced, I crossed to the other side very fast since I didn't want to get frozen again, and noticed the Goths' makeup and wigs completely messed up and removed.

"Uhh..." I could only let out as I saw their real appearances. Ennui had brown hair and looked preppy, while Crimson was had blue eyes with ginger hair. Under all that they seemed pretty normal.

"So, is everything o-" Sky stopped as she saw the same thing I did.

They looked strangely at us then to themselves and screamed. Both of them took out their mirrors and shrieked in terror again.

"My face!" Ennui yelped.

"Don't look at me!" Crimson wailed and tried to cover her face.

I only gave wide-eyes at the situation, climbed onto shore, and took the next travel tip, _"Head to downtown Oulu and get ready to air out your rock on."_ A confused expression crossed my face, "What does that even mean?"

"No idea." Sky answered.

We arrived downtown just before the Reality TV Pros and were at an open stage where the audience appeared to be Goths that just looked like Crimson and Ennui before their makeup and wigs were ruined. Now I know how Don feels when he sees the Goths at every chill zone.

"Cool! I wonder who's playing?" Owen wondered, stepping out of his cab.

Noah took the tip from the Don Box and replied, "Uh, we are."

"It's a _Botch-or-Watch._ " Mickey said.

 _"Teams must battle it out in Finland's national sport: Air Guitar,"_ Emma read then scoffed, "Air Guitar? For real?"

I spoke up with unamused look, "You'd be surprised at some of things people do and call competitions."

"You sound like the voice of experience."

"Trust me... I am."

Aside from that, Sky continued, _"Performances will be judged by the applause meter. Max out the applause meter and rock on by the chill zone. Get it too low and you'll have to go to the back to try it again."_

 _"Whoever didn't pull the rickshaw in Beijing must perform here."_ Kitty finished.

I grew a confident smile, "Air Guitaring, huh? That's not a challenge, that's like guitar without a guitar..." I lost my grin at the last part.

Backstage, I was practicing my air guitar, looking crazy, with my cousin examining how I was.

Sky complimented, "Nice job... I think. How do you feel about doing this?"

"Like a idiot." I answered.

"Maybe if you just imagine yourself in your room playing _Guitar Knight._ " She suggested.

"That's kinda hard to do when your friends and crush watching you." I referred to the Kitty, Emma, Owen, and Noah.

Noah was first to go on stage. He was doing great until he tripped over a wire on stage that cause speakers to unsettle. Owen ran to cover him, but I'm sure the speakers would've done less damage. By the time he got back here, all of the other teams were here.

It was my turn and just as I was about to start...

"YOU STINK!" Trash-hole audience members: they ruin everything.

I glared at the person who yelled, "I haven't even started yet you IDIOTIC MORON!" I jumped up in anger while doing air guitar making the crowd cheer. It turns out it was just enough to max out the applause meter, "Wow, I just got a break."

Sky and I walked over to the chill zone and met with Don, "Congratulations, Acrobats. You're today's winners!"

"I... wasn't even trying," I interjected.

"Don't care. You got first place. Relax and enjoy the rest of the show." He gestured for us to go to a bench.

"But I-"

"You won."

"Still-"

"Got to the chill zone."

"Are you sure-"

"First place."

"Okay-"

"You're the winners." He wasn't even paying attention this time and was on a Game Guy.

"Whatever you say." I shrugged.

"Too bad."

"I just said-"

"Relax now."

"You do realize-"

"Winners."

"I'm okay with this. I'm not even gonna argue."

"Placed first."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "You're... not listening to a word I'm saying aren't you?"

"Away. Go." He swatted a hand for us to leave him alone, making us both sigh.

Surprisingly, everyone else after me failed miserably on the first try **(A/N: Air Guitaring: it's harder than it looks)**. Ennui was doing good until the same trash-hole that called me out yelled at him when his paper bag fell off, "GET OFF THE STAGE PREPPY!"

Don't worry. I stood up for him by giving the guy a big red tomato to the face. I guess no one wanted to copy my little tantrum and make themselves look like an idiot.

Sky returned an unamused look toward me, "Really?"

"What? I can't stand up for other people?" I shrugged.

As I went backstage, I saw Devin and Carrie giving Crimson compliments.

"Crimson? Wow, you're skin is so... flesh colored!" He said.

"I love your hair." She pointed to her.

"You're throwing a lot positive emotions my way, and I don't know what to do with that." Crimson replied in a frightened stance.

Sky placed a hand in her shoulder before I could say anything, "You can just accept who you really are and stay emo. You don't need all that makeup and wigs for what you really are inside," Crimson only blinked at her in response, making her sigh, "Or just go down to the Goth-style shops."

Ennui came by at the scene, "Thank you, but we can handle this ourselves." He faced his partner, "This is just what the world is for us now, Crimson. I think I know how to handle it."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Ennui: We're quitting. (A/N: WHAT?!)**

* * *

After Mickey's stage freakout, I asked Sky, "Why didn't you let me comfort them?"

Sky gave me an unimpressed expression, "Because you would've said something sarcastic like 'I'd try this new emotion that normal people use called happiness.'."

I glared for a moment, "That's not-" I had wide-eyes and realized, "Actually, yes. That is what I would say."

"Uh-huh, I thought so." She walked away with attitude. Yeesh, I didn't even know Sky had it in her.

After a little bit, the Rockers had showed up and Spud showed them how it was done. After that, everyone else followed their example and got to to the chill zone. So they can follow their performance, but they won't do mine? I'm somewhat offended... but still. In other news, the Ice Dancers came in fifth again much to their dismay. But Owen and Noah were desperately trying to complete the challenge and the Goths were nowhere to be seen.

"How'd we go from first to last?" In response to Owen's question, Noah shot him a glare, "Oh, right."

"It's Emma isn't it?" I raised an eyebrow knowing the answer all too well. Bookworm only sighed in remark, "Just pretend no one's looking... oh wait, nevermind."

"Look on the bright side: the Goths aren't even here," Owen tried to put a positive spin on things. Noah gasped and pointed behind us. We turned back and saw the Goths' new look.

It scared the living daylights out of me.

"Step aside. We're here to rock." Ennui declared.

I stammered, "W-wow. I see you took Sky's suggestion on going to the Goth shop," I managed a weak smile and thumbs-up, "Very brave."

"Hey, there you guys are! You won't believe the super preppy couple that said they were you!" Owen exclaimed.

A light glare from me returned to him, " _They were_ the super preppy couple."

Just one look from the audience on stage was enough to get the Goths a secure spot in the chill zone (Note that one of the guys in audience even fainted at the sight of them).

"That went well." Ennui said.

Don glared at them, "Oh, yeah. I'll be having nightmares about it."

The Goths walked over to the Ice Dancers and saw a trophy shaped coal in Josee's hand.

"Whoa. Is that a Hawaiian lava rock?" Crimson asked.

"What of it?" Jacques remarked.

"That's hardcore. Those things cast a shroud of darkness around all those who plunder them." Ennui explained.

"Can we have it?" His partner requested.

"Your good luck charm has been cursing us all this time?! Well done, Josee!" Could've been worse. You could've been on the volcano that nearly burned Alejandro to a crisp!

"Thanks. How do we break the curse?!" She asked them desperately.

"Just toss it anywhere in Hawaii." Ennui's answer made them Ice Dancers look at each other.

In a unexpected turn of events, Mickey gained confidence... then lost it when he got on stage and scratched himself. Jay tried to help but ended up in the same predicament as his brother. I don't know what to say on this one rather than...

"Now's your chance Noah. Go out there and rock on!" I pointed to the stage.

"But if Emma's watching, I can't." That's the first time I've ever heard him whine. I facepalmed and groaned.

"OH, COME ON!" Owen screamed in frustration, "Do you think Emma wants to date a quitter?"

"Maybe..."

"Dude, just go out there and do what Spud and I did." I gestured.

"Easy for you to say. You just got lucky when some guy screamed out at you before you even performed then became audience favorite." Cheesy, but I guess it is true.

"Okay. Owen, this is where _you_ play good cop," I gave up trying to convince, "Or else I'm switching to bad cop and trust me... you do not want Bad Cop Zane in the house." I pounded my fists together.

"Racing with you the most fun EVER. There's no one in the world I'd rather eat eyeballs with. But if we get eliminated, it's over for us and for you and Emma. Is that really what you want?" Wow, that was very heartfelt. It makes me wanna cry.

After a moment of silence, Noah replied, "Gee, big guy. I don't know what to say."

I smiled, "How about, 'I'm glad Zane's not ripping me a new one.'? Just think about being Owen's hero rather than Emma's." Speaking of him, he cried at the last part and I comforted him.

And after a good lecture, Noah was able to complete the challenge and was able to get himself and Owen the second to last spot to the chill zone, beating the Adversity Twins who got eliminated.

After their quick confessional, I greeted Bookworm with a high-five, "Nice job, dude! Now Emma will ask you out for sure."

Noah scratched his head, "Yeah, about that... I'm off her for good.

"Well, that's gr-WHAAA?" I stopped and look out him crazy, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's think about this for a moment."

"I've already made up my mind, Zane. It's like I said: if she was into me, she would've said something by now. But that's just not the case," He left me in astonishment. So that's it?! He's just gonna give up on Emma?!

I stammered as he left, "I... wh... you...I just..." I turned to his partner, "Owen, do something about this. Bad Cop Zane wants to knock some sense into him!"

"Sorry, dude. But once Noah does something, he never looks back." He shrugged.

I groaned in frustration. By now, Emma's gotta like Noah. But once she finds out that he doesn't like her anymore, she and Kitty will quit the alliance. What do I do now?

* * *

 **(A/N: Wow, this is yet again the longest chapter in this story yet. And some kind of cliffhanger I might add.)**


	11. My Way or Zimbabwe

I'd wished had time to try convince Noah not give up on Emma. I mean think about it for a sec: if he's not into her anymore, that'll put our entire alliance in jeopardy! Then she'll be devastated, turn competitive again, probably cry in a bowl of ice cream for the rest of her life, and start the apocalypse! Okay, we'll maybe not that last part... but you know what I mean. Still, I had a race to focus on and I already had problems with tangling on my feelings on Kitty. Not to mention, Sky's been socializing with the Sisters so I can only assume that she was hoping Noah and Emma would get together.

For now, me and Owen agreed to keep it Noah's move a secret between us. Hopefully, he won't flunk up like he did on season one. Or I should at least make sure that Noah and Emma don't make contact with each other.

Sky took the travel tip from the Don Box, _"Go to Helsinki Airport to catch your next flight to Zimbabwe."_

We wasted no time getting to the our stop and catching our taxi to the airport. When we got there, all teams eventually arrived and were waiting for our next flight. Well, almost everyone was going to Zimbabwe...

"Why is it so hard for you to understand?" I heard Josee and Jacques confronting the desk guy.

"We need the next flight to Hawaii and we're only gonna be there for like ten minutes. And then we have to fly from Hawaii to Zimbabwe." Jacques explained.

"But... it'd be making no sense!" The desk guy replied.

"Okay, fine! 'We'd be making no sense.' Now stuff the opinion and GIVE US OUR TICKETS!" Josse screamed at him. Wow, someone's desperate to get rid of a curse that doesn't seem to exist. I mean if you were cursed, you'd end up like the Adversity Twins with random objects crushing and all sorts of allergies plus phobias haunting you (Did I mention they were eliminated in the last challenge. They made it further than anyone expected). The only thing bad that's happened to these guys are ending up in sixth place then moving up to fifth.

Anyway as the Ice Dancers were heading away from us to get their acts cleaned up, the rest of us were heading to Zimbabwe for our challenge. When got there, we had to drive jeeps to the next Don Box.

I took the wheel and Sky warned me, "Try not to pull that stunt off when we were in Morocco on the scooter."

I laughed in response, "I'll try not to." I hit the accelerator and we took off down the road at super sonic speeds.

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!" She glared daggers at me.

"Sorry," Even though I didn't really mean it. I slowed down to calm her down, "But we're in jeeps. Not scooters."

She only sighed in response and read for our directions, _"Head to Victoria Falls where the Zambezi River borders Zambia and Zimbabwe."_

"Want me to gun it?"

"NO!"

"Okay, normal driving it is." The vote is (somehow) unanimous folks.

"Come on, Spud! The Acrobats are ahead of us!" Hey, here come the Rockers, "We're so close to first!"

Spud gasped, "We're in first place? ALRIGHT! WE'RE KILLING IT!"

"No, dude. We're in second," Rock corrected him, "The Acrobats are ahead of us!" We were head-to-head for a mile or two until all of us arrived at the Don Box, "There it is!"

"The Don Box!" I exclaimed. All of us hopped out of jeeps were jogging toward it until we heard honk. It was the Daters/Haters spiraling towards us. Rock, Sky, and I screamed in terror as they were about to crash into us.

"STOP!" Stephanie screamed at her teammate/enemy, forcing him to brake hard.

"Uh, hey guys." Ryan greeted sheepishly, "H-how's it going?"

"Uhhhh-AAAAAAHHHH-"

For some reason, Spud had started screaming until I stopped him, "Dude, they were about to crash into us five seconds ago." I walked to over Rock for some answers, "What's up with him?"

"He has a delayed reaction to everything," He explained. Okay, that's... uh... I got nothing to say on this one.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Rock: *Smiles* Spud, you're reaction timing is improving.**

 ***Elevator Music, Time Passes, Rock is reading a book***

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 ***More time, Rock is now walking around the confessional booth***

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 ***Rock is drinking a cup of hot cocoa***

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 **Spud: *Smiles* Thanks, man.**

 **(A/N: That took longer than anyone expected.)**

* * *

"Is anyone else here yet?" Stephanie asked with a glare on her face for some reason.

"No," Sky answered, "All of us got here first."

"We're in first place?" Spud asked. Oh boy, here we go again.

"We are for now." Rock sent him an angry expression.

"WERE in first place!" Stephanie ran past us and took the tip from the Don Box, "Told you my shortcut would-"

"Almost kill us?!" Ryan cut her off, "Yes, yes it did!"

Rock took the next tip from the Don Box, "We're going on a 'Selfie Safari'!" A 'Selfie Safari'? That sounds like something Kitty would enjoy! Aw, great. Now I miss her.

 _"Take the waterproof cameras in your glove compartment. Then use the rafts to ride over the falls while taking a selfie. Then float down river to Zambezi National Park, home of the elusive white rhino where you'll take a picture with it, finally it's a foot race to the carpet of completion where photos will be inspected."_ I read from the tip.

We received our rafts looked at Victoria Falls and gasped at the sight of it. Add here that the Surfers, Cadets, and the Father and Son team were here.

"Whoa." Geoff said.

"Wicked!" Brody released.

"Cool!" Junior gazed at the sight of it.

"Yeah," Dwayne turned to his son, "Don't worry, you'll be safe. Hey, all we need are dummies who look exactly like us and can take selfies."

What? That doesn't even make sense!

I turned to the camera with an unimpressed look while everyone else groaned and Junior facepalmed. Sky and I did our selfies while falling from the falls. It could've been a lot worse with us screaming, the raft away from us, and with a few bruises when we hit the water. First thing we heard when we resurfaced were the Rockers talking to themselves, and Dwayne calling Junior's name.

"Hey, have you seen my son?" He asked us.

"Don't know," Rock answered and pointed a certain direction, "Maybe he went over there." Of course, that had to be the place where a lion was sleeping. It made Dwayne shudder and gave us wide-eyes at the thought of Junior being eaten alive, "Maybe it's a vegetarian lion."

"Uhh..." Sky and I released at the same time.

Dwayne only froze for a second until he screamed, "JUUUUNNNIIIIOOORRR!"

"Try checking the last place you saw him." She suggested.

"Oh, right," He calmed down for a moment, "Family rules." He started climbing back up the falls.

I rubbed my head, "Ehh... are you sure you should climb back up the falls?"

"DON'T WORRY, JUNIOR! DADDY'S COMING!" Dwayne ignored me.

"He's... not gonna make it, isn't he?" I asked out loud.

"I'm not too sure." Sky answered.

After that scene, we floated down toward Zambezi National Park and were taking a long time trying to find the white rhino. We saw rustling in the bushes and I smiled knowing we had something into play. I lunged inside it and accidentally found out it was Junior that I tackled.

"What the...?" Strange, usually rhinos come out of tall bushes. On top of that (literally) was that Devin had the same idea as me and all three of us were in a dogpile.

I groaned in pain, "Well, at least I found a kid."

Carrie tended to him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Junior got up, "I'm fine, uh, I mean," He replied in a deeper voice, "I'm fine."

"Where's your dad?" Devin asked.

"We got seperated. No biggie." HOLD IT JUNIOR! Giant biggie! He's climbed Victoria Falls just to reunite with ya!

I whispered in his ear, "He thinks you've been eaten by a lion."

"Oh," He scratched his head, "I'm sure he'll catch up."

"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night." I walked back to Sky, "No rhino here. We better keep moving."

It took us a long time before we could find the white rhino. Guess it's not called 'elusive' for nothing. During our search, we stumbled into the Sisters at that time. Speaking of that, it was being wasted while they were socializing. I stayed out of it because... it's girl stuff, I wouldn't understand anyway. At that time, I saw the Reality TV Pros a close distance away from us taking a picture of their rhino. I got Owen's attention to come toward me to a distance away from everyone else.

"Dude, any luck with getting Noah to like Emma again?" I asked him.

He shook his head, "Nope. If anything, he's more focused on the game than winning her heart right now."

"Have you tried to talk him again about giving her another chance?"

"Noah won't listen. Whenever I ask him about re-considering his chances, he won't answer back. Heck, he could be completely over Emma by now!" Owen spread his arms out in frustration. I'd thought it would come this.

"Darn it," I muttered, "Look, we both know all of us in this together right?" He nodded his head, clearly knowing I was referring to the Sister-Pro-Acrobat alliance (We're trying to work out the name). "We can't let ANYONE on any circumstance know that he isn't interested in her anymore. If word spreads, Emma will get heartbroken and she might call off the alliance with us. We'll need each other now more than ever if we ever hope to get to the finale. So until Noah gets his head straight, keep tabs on this secret and we just might be able to pull this off."

"But... I can't keep a secret!" He protested, "I totally blew it since the first season."

I smiled and held up a box of chocolate frosted donuts (don't even ask where I got it), "If you can keep this down, I'll give you a baker's dozen of these donuts."

Owen's mouth hung open as he drooled, "Donut! I want one!" He tried to reach for the box, but I slapped it away, "Ow! That hurt!"

I shushed him, "Keep it down, dude. Someone might hear us. Besides, you can only have this until this whole thing blows over and our alliance is safe, 'kay?"

"Right. I'll do it! I'll do it for the donuts!" Owen walked over with determination which made me grin. He just might be able to pull this off with a little motivation. That is until he bumped into Noah and panicked, "Uh, I wasn't talking secretly to Zane about you and Emma!"

Noah raised an eyebrow in curiosity while I facepalmed and groaned in response. Yeah, I take it back. He's totally gonna blow it.

After my cousin was done socializing, Sky and I were able to get a picture of me standing next to the rhino and smiling. We raced to the chill zone where Don (and Junior for reasons known) was waiting, "7th place."

After a few more teams arrived, I went to comfort Junior, "Don't worry, dude. Your dad will be here soon enough." Just as I said that, the Ice Dancers were coming up on the horizon, "I take that back, you're junked."

Junior sighed in response, "I guess Dad and I are done for."

Carrie walked over to us and pointed across, "Maybe not. Look!" Right behind them was Dwayne hanging onto the horn of the rhino.

"Dad?!"

I laughed, "Yeah, that's your dad alright." The rhino eventually ran over the Ice Dancers, still trying to get Dwayne off its horn. But I guess those two (Jacques and Josee) are now _dirt_ bags!

Heh, heh... get it? Okay, I'll stop.

"Ugh, I hate rhinos." Jacques complained. Nope, I was right those two are dirtbags. The rhino must've also heard what he said because it quickly stopped launching Junior's dad into the chill zone.

"Dad, are you okay?" He asked.

"Junior! Oh, buddy! Am I glad to see you!" Dwayne hugged his son and both were able to get 10th place since they saved a picture.

Meanwhile, the Ice Dancers were getting chased by the rhino and tried to calm it down. I took pictures of it and asked Sky, "Would I be a jerk if I laughed at this?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes.

"Eh, I'm gonna do it anyway." I remarked, laughing at their misfortune as they kept running back and forth in terror.

Oh, man. I'm gonna regret this later on. But that's hours away!


	12. The Shawshank Re-Dumb-tion

**A/N: JAILBREAK! Is the theme for this chapter. Thank you Silver Writer 0927, sdgeek 2003, Likonpark 100 for your reviews and support! It means so much in order to make this story better. And to those who fav or follow me (or this story)for any updates.**

 **Here's your new fresh chapter.**

* * *

Remember how I said that I might regret laughing and taunting at the Ice Dancers? Well... when they finally lost the rhino, they were glaring daggers at me as they walked to the chill zone (especially Josee) because they heard me laughing at them as they were getting chased before. When they came in last, it turned out it to be a non-elimination round. All in all, they were happy about it and knowing them too well were planning to make a huge comeback.

And most likely get revenge on me for when they looked like cowards (as their evil laughs were proven). But hey, in my point of view it was kinda funny to see that they got their just deserts for tipping Sanders back in Transylvania and nearly getting me and Sky caught in the crossfire. Anyway, when we were up we received our next travel tip.

"Looks like we're going to Australia," I read the tip, "And all the teams are on the same bus. Great." Insert the part of sighing at the last thing.

"What's wrong?" Sky seemed concerned.

"Oh, uh... nothing. Let's just go!" I quickly shook it off and ran ahead. Now I'm gonna have to tangle with keeping the alliance in check and keeping a close eye on the Ice Dancers.

She only shrugged as we seated on the bus behind the Sisters, "Are you sure? Because you've been a little tense lately."

I waved my arms, smiling at her, "Ah, don't worry. It's just the competition. Besides, things should be smooth from here on out."

"Attention, adoring viewers!" A familiar voice called out. Oh great. The Ice Dancers are back in black. Woo-hoo.

I frowned and muttered, "Then again, I'm not always right."

"We are back and stronger than ever!"

"From this point on, the true Olympic Ice Dancers will give you the moment you've been waiting for!" Josee continued, waving to us.

I raised my hand and called out, "OH, OH! You're finally quitting the show?" Everybody else, even Sky, laughed in response while the Ice Dancers glared at me. Yeah, I'm an image ruiner. Sue me.

"NO!"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Josee: Purple was too friendly. The black screams get out of our way.**

 **Jacques: And washes with similar colors.**

* * *

Once the bus had stopped, we all raced inside the airport. The flight turned out to be 13 hours long. Plenty of time for rest and relaxation. But if you're on this show, you know it can't be that long.

"Attention, teams!" Don's voice came over the screen and showed an image of a travel tip with picture attached to it, "This is a boomerang. Find one attached your travel tip and you can use it at the next Don Box to send another team back to repeat the last challenge."

"We agree that we need to get one of those right?" I whispered, hoping Sky was on the same page as I was.

"Why?" She spoke quietly in response.

I pointed behind me as I overheard Josee, "I want one!"

"Why would we want to use it against them anyway?"

"Have you seen the way they've treated this competition? They'll do everything they can to ensure they get first place any chance they'll get. Not to mention, the Dancers see us as a real threat to them winning the game because of our recent top placements... and I made fools of them on the bus."

"What makes you think they would carry a grudge against us?" To answer her question, I pointed above me where the Jacques and Josee where glaring daggers toward me and Sky.

Yup, they really want us out of the competition. So after a few minutes, I was managing to catch some Z's until I overheard Emma.

"But you have to tell Zane."

I woke up and asked her, "Tell me about what?"

"Nothing," Kitty stopped her and laughed nervously, "Nothing! It's just... girl stuff."

"Oh, okay," I shrugged, "I wouldn't understand." I went back to sleep again until Sky woke me up.

"We're about land in-"

 _"Attention all passengers, we have arrived at our destination,"_ The pilot over the loudspeaker announced, _"Please leave in an orderly-"_ He stopped when all of us were running out the plane, _"LET ME FINISH!"_

"Sorry pilot!" I called back to him, even though I never really meant it. We grabbed our next tip right after the Cadets and took a taxi, _"Stop in at Geelong Maximum Security. Note: First team to the chill zone wins a phone call to whoever they want."_

Sky gasped in excitement, "We could call my sister! She is going to be so proud of us doing this show."

"Really? I was just gonna call home and taunt Shelly," I smiled at the thought of it.

"And why would you do that?" An unimpressed shot my way.

A shrug returned, "Why not?" Immediately, we were stuck in traffic making us groan, "Aw, man!"

"Can you please navigate through traffic?" Sky asked politely. The driver only shrugged in response.

I smirked, "I'll pay you $50." The driver grinned and sped off through traffic.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Smiling* Bribery: for when being nice fails.**

 **Sky: We could've just waited until we got through.**

 **Zane: *Shrugs* Eh, I like the part where we get things done faster.**

* * *

We got to the prison the same time as the Sister and Reality TV Pros. When we started to get cuffed, I didn't go down as easy as the rest of them. I put up a good fight for a few minutes until a guard managed to knock me out with a baton.

What can I say? Jail is not somewhere you wanna end up.

"It wasn't personal. I mean, yeah, it was your face I punched in, but I still respect you as a fellow officer of the law 'cause you only cried a little. Super manly dude!" MacArthur called out from her cell.

We sighed in response since...well... it's jail.

"Hey, you two," One of the two guards called from the other side, "You're free to go."

Sky and I smiled brightly, "We're free to go?!"

He only laughed in response, "Heh, heh, heh. NAH. Not really," We frowned in response, "But we forgot your pillows." The pillows slid into our cells that gave us a ray of hope, "Don't get too excited. We already checked them for any tools you might use to escape. Right, Johnny?"

The other guard seemed to be caught off guard, "Huh? Oh, yeah! Of course I inspected them. I mean I forget a lot of things, but I remembered this part of the job... I think." He placed a finger on his chin as if he forgot it.

His partner ignored it anyway, "Heh, see you around inmates." The two guards walked away from our cells while laughing at their jokes from earlier.

After I picked up the pillow, I noticed it was heavier than it felt like. I shook it and a hammer dropped out of it, "Ooh, a hammer. We could use it to get out here. But where?"

Sky called me, "Hey, we can escape up here," She took the tool from the ground and opened a part of the ceiling. We climbed up through and headed left. It was taking a long time for us for a find way out of this prison.

"Sky?" I voiced through the dark vent.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where we're going?"

"Uh, no..."

I sighed in response, "Of course. Maybe we should go back to our cell and use the hammer at the window."

"Good idea! There's just one problem."

"And that is...?"

"We don't know where we are."

"Nuts," I didn't even realize that until now, "Why don't we just turn back the way we came from? I mean we've gone left all this time right?"

She laughed sheepishly, "Yeah... about that..."

I facepalmed, "We're gonna be stuck here forever," My head fell on the bottom, "Wait," I pounded onto a surface and found out it was thin concrete, "I got something. This could be our way out!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Smash through already," Sky commanded.

I used the hammer to break open the floor below us. We dropped in and I celebrated, "YES! We did it! We broke out of the..." I noticed I was standing in a confined environment, "What? How did..." I walked out and realized a familiar feature next to us.

We were right next to the cell we escaped from.

"Aw, come on!" Sky complained while I facepalmed.

"We only went a few feet?" I groaned, "I hate pri..." I stopped when I realized I was standing next to Kitty, "Oh, hey. Kitty."

"Hi," She waved back, but we were standing in an awkward silence.

Really awkward silence...

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...

Uh... I wonder if I should something... **(Author: Yes.)**

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...

...

...

 **(Author: Dude, say something!)**

...huh? Oh, right.

"So... how's it going?" **(A/N: _How's it going?_ Really? Zane: I'm not good with romance OK?!**

"Well-"

"Hey, guys," Owen called to us, "I found a way out. Down here." We looked through a hole where the toilet used to be.

"No." I refused.

Sky tried to assure me, "It's okay, no one's been using it."

"Uh, actually..." He started and laughed nervously, making me facepalm again. Why would you do that?!

"Seriously? What have you been eating?" I asked him then rejected it, "No, nevermind. I don't even want to know." I jumped down into the hole and landed, "Okay, it's safe to-" Everyone else landed on top of me, "You couldn't have waited until I moved couldn't you?"

We started walking through the sewers. It stunk... literally. Owen literally has the power to detonate a stink bomb capable of effecting the entire sewer. Noah, Sky, Emma, and Kitty held their noses; I... held my breath.

"Ugh, it stinks so bad down here!" Kitty complained. You don't say.

"Could be worse," I strained, "You could trying not to breathe at all."

"Well, there could be any number of reasons for that. I mean who could really say when you-" Owen was cut off by Noah.

"Yeah, it's a real mystery." He glared at him.

Owen stopped for a second, "Everybody does it! There's a book about it! What was it again?" A second later, he was running and screaming ahead of us. By the time we found a way out of the sewer, I was almost ready to pass out.

"Look, a way out." Sky pointed to a bars ahead. I got my hammer ready and bust them through.

I inhaled sharply and cheered weakly, "We did it." I fell on the ground.

"Zane, are you okay?" Kitty asked me.

"Yeah. Never better," I managed a weak smile.

We ran (I was carried by Owen again) to the next Don Box, "It's an _All-In: Craft-a-Raft._ "

" _Construct a raft and sail it to the chill zone._ " Sky finished.

"Okay, let's get building," I said. A moment of silence passed, "Can you put me down Owen?" He more like let me down... literally. Not much really happened overtime. We built our own rafts and Sky and I were able to get to the chill zone came in 6th place right before the Daters/Haters.

I walked over to Carrie and Devin, who was trying to call on a phone, "So, how's it going?"

"It could be better," She answered.

"Trying to confess your feelings to him?" She nodded her head at my answer, "Doesn't look like it's getting anywhere."

"Come on, pick up!" Devin desperately was trying to reach someone, "Voicemail, again. UGH!"

"You can keep trying, but once the final team checks in, time's up," Don said to him.

"Who's he trying to call anyway?" I questioned Carrie.

"Shelly." Great. The name that bring despair to all those who swear loyalty to her.

"Oh, brother. This isn't gonna end well." A sigh escaped from me.

"Is it bad that I hope he runs out of time?" She turned to me. I only returned a shrug.

Eventually, Devin was able to reach his girlfriend, "Shelly! Hi! It's me. Devin. I miss you much- whoa, whoa, what? No, we never broke up. You're dating who? Ashton?!" Turns out, Ashton was their tennis instructor, "NO! Please, Shelly. Don't! Wait!" Don took the phone from him, "No, no! I need to call her back!"

"Sorry," He apologized, "One phone call only. So, how's the girlfriend?"

"She's dumped me... for a tennis instructor!" Devin cried on Don's shoulder.

"Whoa, the tennis instructor. That never happens." Don remarked sarcastically.

"Maybe, I should tell him now?" Carrie tried, but her best friend kept crying loudly, "Or... maybe I'll wait for him to stop sobbing."

"I'd start getting the ice cream if I were you." I suggested.

In a massive twist of fate, the Ice Dancers and Police Cadets were sailing to the chill zone. Unfortunately, Jacq and Josee were able to make to the chill zone since one of them knocked them off with a paddle. But much to their delight, Sanders and MacArthur are still in the race since this was a non-elimination round.

And I bet they'll bringing a new level of pain towards the Ice Dancers.


	13. Down and Outback

You know how when I said that the Ice Dancers were planning to make a comeback? It looks like they planning to wipe out the Cadets first until one of their plans went wrong and started targeting another team (a.k.a the Acrobats, us). It started when I took the tip from the Don Box...

"It's an _All-In: Bunny Bagging,_ " I read from it, _"Collect ten rabbits in a sack then give it to rancher. As an added bonus, the team that captures the rare albino bunny will get to skip the challenge,"_ I snapped my fingers, "HA! This'll be a piece of cake!"

"Let's rock this farm!" Rock exclaimed. We all cheered and ran into the fields.

Sky raised an eyebrow at me, "Are you sure this will be easy, Zane? These bunnies are more vicious than they seem."

I laughed in response, "Oh, come on Sky. Aren't they just cute little animals that roam around, dig their own holes, and mind their own business?"

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Jacques was screaming in terror as a rabbit attacked him and his partner didn't even care. Alright, so they're a little more dangerous up close.

"Okay, so I might be in a little over my head..." I shrugged, "But we got the Sisters and Reality TV Pros by our side. Right guys?" There were busy already catching rabbits, "Oh, right. Let's hunt some wabbits," An unimpressed look shot my way, "Er... sorry. It slipped out." I found myself scratching my head nervously.

"Sure," She didn't believe me. I didn't even believe myself. We took off into the fields and I grabbed a sack. During that time, Carrie and Sky were talking about how things'll go now that Shelly broke up with Devin. Needless to say, he's gonna go through the stages of breakup. I'm not sure what order it comes in, but it has to do with denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Did I leave anything out?

"Come on little bunny, come to the nice little man Zane." I tried to lure a rabbit into the bag. It threw cabbage at me and laughed. I grabbed it tightly in my grasp, "I'll take that as a yes."

We both started grabbing rabbits all over the farm. It WAS harder than it looked in the first place. Sky put me in charge of the bag and I grabbed the last rabbit, "Gotcha little sucker."

"Wow! Did you see that tractor take a dive?" I heard Josee's voice off in the distance. I peeked from the bushes and saw the Ice Dancers and Surfers.

"I wonder who's driving?" Jacques wondered (or should I say acted).

"MacArthur," Josee smiled deviously.

Her partner fake gasped, "That's why I heard her scream, 'HELP ME, BRODY!'."

Brody _really_ gasped in concern, "I'M COMING!" He ran off to the dock.

"Dude, wait! We need to..." Geoff only sighed and gave up the bag to catch up, "BRODY!"

"Oh, look, we've got our ten rabbits!" Josee laughed mischievously. I glared from the distance. That's low. And I know low because I been there.

"OH, so evil!" Jacques agreed.

I gained a smile of my own and laid eyes on my rabbit, "You know, I got something better for ya," I threw a rock near the tree to distract them.

"What was that?"

"I don't know," Josee answered, "Someone must be nearby."

"I heard the noise at the tree," They both inspected around it while the bag was still free.

"Go free your little buddies," I whispered to the rabbit, "Oh, and just so they know who ruined their sabotage, here's a note," I slipped a paper into its paw as I let it go. It scurried along toward the bag and tore a hole through the bag that set the rabbits free.

Man, I'm more evil than those will ever be!

Jacques turned around and gasped, "Josee, look! The sack is empty!" He pointed to the empty bag along the ground.

She turned away from tree and immediately ran over, "WHAT?!" Josee picked up the bag and the note slipped out, "What is this? _Congratulations, you're plan to sabotage has been sabotaged by..."_ She stopped for a moment with wide-eyes twitching.

"Josee, are you alright?"

His answer was met by a scream that could be heard around the fields, "BLACKWOOOOOOOD!"

I chuckled to myself, "Heh, heh, heh... wait," I realized something was supposed to be done. I turned to my sack and saw it was empty, "Aw." '

 **(A/N: Didn't really think about** ** _your_** **sack did ya? Zane: Oh, shut up.)**

Of course when I was walking back, that had to be the moment where Sky had confronted me, "So, are we ready to go?"

I scratched my head nervously, "Heh, yeah... about that... uh... I actually have a better idea!" I replaced my expression with a bright smile.

"Okay, let's- wait, what do you-"

I swiftly cut her off, "I was thinking, uh yunno, we hang here longer and catch more of these rabbits. They look so adorable!" I picked one up and it tried to scratch my face, prompting me to pull it away.

Sky frowned, "You said a minute ago-"

"But just think about it! All the rabbits here... we just don't understand them well enough. And if we take some with us and spend time with them, we could make a connection!"

Despite my bright smile, she threw a light glare toward me, "You lost the rabbits didn't you?"

"Pretty much," I admitted, losing my smile and making her sigh, "Don't worry we'll just catch another ten. It'll be easy."

"Will it?" I stopped cold at the familiar voice and turned to see the Ice Dancers glaring daggers at me.

"Oh, hey guys!" I was acting as nothing between us happened, "How's it going? You know, you two looked very good in black back-"

Josee got up in my face, "Don't. Act. So. INNOCENT! We know what you did to back there. You sabotaged our sabotage!"

I waved my hands up in surrender, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can't just go around accusing me of doing-" I was cut shortly when she held the note. Now that I think about it, maybe writing that note down was a bad idea, "That could be a different Zane Blackwood."

"Really? How many of them do you know, hm?"

I shrugged, "Well... you see, I've heard of this other Zane Blackwood, who invited people to this island and established the New Orange-"

Her sharp growl cut me off, "Don't act like a smart aleck!" She pressed her finger against my chest, "We know it was you who swiped our chance of taking first place and the gold!"

I raised any eyebrow in confusion, "Gold? What do you mean 'gold'? This isn't the Olympics."

"But it's a competition! There's gold in every single event ANYTIME! And you ruined our chances at winning! YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET EVERY-" She was interrupted when MacArthur came out of nowhere and tackled her to the ground, "Get off of me!"

"Not a chance, sister!" She glared at her.

"It's not you that I'm after! It's HIM!" Josee pointed to me.

"Don't care! You sent me on a wild rabbit chase and now it's come back to haunt you!"

"UGH! YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!" She cried in desperation.

"Don't worry Josee! I got you!" Jacques tried to pull MacArthur off of his partner, but with no progress. Which gave my cousin and I a window of escape.

I bent down and whispered to Sky, "We should leave right now." We proceeded with our escape plan and gunned it away from the confrontation.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Fields)**

 **Zane: You think I made enemies of the Ice Dancers for life?**

 **Josee: *In the background* YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS ZANE!**

 **Sky: Yeah, I'd say so.**

* * *

After a close call, we tried again to catch another ten rabbits. It was kinda hard to do when you have an enemy who's now breathing down your neck every second. I guess the Ice Dancers now see us as the biggest threat to the game even more the Cadets.

And that's saying something. Those teams had an intense rivalry.

Anyway, we were trying to catch rabbits again and like I said, it was harder than it looked. The good news is the Ice Dancers were having a hard time too. But for me, I tried to get one bunny I cornered from the tree. I lunged at it, it jumped over me, and hopped away. Add the part where my face met the trunk of the tree.

"Wow, this is harder than it looks," I commented.

I got back up and chased the rabbit where it was back and forth until I crashed into Kitty for the moment. I picked her bag, handed back it her, and gave a quick apology before I went toward that crazy rabbit again. It went inside the hole in the ground and I reach for it. Unexpectedly, it was actually just a dynamite stick and I threw it away from me and release a sigh of relief.

*BOOM*

"BLACKWOOOOOD!" Whoops, looks I wasn't watching where I was throwing. Add the part where Josee was now planning my downfall.

Anyway, it took us awhile but we finally collected ten rabbits from the sack. Even better, the Ice Dancers were falling behind us and were getting their just deserts for now. We handed our sack of rabbits to the rancher and he approved of us. He gave us our next travel tip.

 _"Gilde an asunder from the great down under,"_ Sky read from the travel tip, "We're heading New Zealand."

"Let's go!" I ran off to the toward the gliders. We quickly took off into the air and Sky flew it. No surprise here, her name is 'Sky' for some reason. Might I add, she was a good pilot too.

Once we landed, we race to the chill zone where Don was waiting for us, "Acrobats, you're not in last," We high-fived each other. We came in just about that time Owen, Noah, Emma, and Kitty got here. Eventually our new enemies made it to the chill zone, "Ice Dancers, you're third to last."

"NO-"

Don stopped them from screaming, "Quiet, you'll cause an avalanche."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: Yunno, those Ice Dancers seemed pretty upset that they nearly lost the race. They'll probably sabotage us any chance they'll get.**

 **Zane: *Smirks* Don't worry about them Sky. I'm sure both of them are over it by now.**

* * *

 **(No, they're not)**

 **Jacques: *Glares* We are not over the fact that we came third to last thanks to that pesky rat! And he threw a dynamite stick at my partner. Where did he even get that?**

 **Josee: That doesn't matter right now. We just have to focus on the gold and then we to take Zane and his cousin out of this race permanently *Devious Smile* and nothing will stop us!**

 ***Both Laugh Evilly***

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, those laughs really are unnerving. And I decided to put the Ice Dancers in a different position because they decided to sabotage their way into first. Not a good way to play the game guys.**

 **Josee: *Glares* Oh, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!**

 **Author: A lot. Anyway, will the Acrobats be able to handle the Ice Dancers as their new enemies? Who knows? They were both able to get to the finals in the previous series. Tune in for the next part of the In-Zane Race! Oh, and review please.**


	14. Maori or Less

Well, how should I start this? Oh, right. The good news is Noah looks like isn't gonna try to put his feelings aside for Emma (as Owen told me), and I was going to try and actually spend some time with Kitty, okay?! The bad news is the Ice Dancers are still holding a grudge against me and that could give our entire alliance some trouble. Because if they affect me, they affect everyone.

But that wasn't the problem I was facing in this challenge.

So after we took our first tip, it told us that we had to run up the cliff to the train station up top.

While we were running up top, I was talking to Kitty, "I didn't think I'd actually make it on the third season. And when I did, the host just had to have the nerve to knock me out with a frying pan just because his plane was a total rustbucket."

"How does he even get away with doing that?" She replied.

"Who knows? The law never seems to get a grip anyway," I smiled in satisfaction, "But I sure did. One season of was enough torture toward him. More than that must've made him cry afterwards. He probably was like, 'I'm gonna make another season with a new cast as an excuse to keep Zane away!'. I didn't mind though. A break from the cameras was just what the doctor ordered."

"Are you excited to be back on again?"

"Not really, but it's better than being stuck at home doing community service and-" We skidded to stop when Owen was standing while eating popcorn and Sky was smiling at the scene.

"What are we stopping-" Kitty cut herself off when she noticed Emma and Noah were holding hands, "Aw!"

 **(A/N: Dude, now's your chance. Make a move! Zane: What move? *Realizes* Oh, right.)** I took Kitty's hand and we ended up staring at each other.

That is until the Surfers passed us and interrupted our moment (Noah and Emma included; they were about to kiss too), "Not so fast, party boys! Go, go, go! Move it!" Emma called to them and we started running again.

A few minutes later, we ended up on the third train same as the Ice Dancers (as you know from last challenge), who were in the front probably trying to figure out how to get first place again and my downfall. As for the six of us, we were sitting at a table discussing our game plan.

Well, more like Bookworm and Future Lawyer Girl. Not sure if Sky could get involved in this.

"I have a plan to get us all to the finale as an _alliance._ " Emma stated.

"I love the way you say alliance." Noah replied. Seriously... is he for real?

"Okay. First off, regular team meetings to work on any competitive feelings that arise and to discuss Kitty and Zane's behavior." NAY! I object!

"Hey!" We synced in offense.

"As much as that sounds great and all..." Kitty and I cleared our throats hoping Sky wasn't talking about the second part, "But shouldn't we be focusing on strategies to actually get us to the finale rather than observing our team's behavior?"

Emma ignored her though, "Sticking together will also ensure plenty of anecdotes for the rehearsal dinner." Wait, what? Okay, I'm completely lost now; someone get us back on track.

"Hold on a second!" Sky exclaimed trying to get their attention, "How did we go from discussing our game plan to discussing dinner?"

"What kind of person has to rehearse eating?" Noah asked, still ignoring.

Owen laughed in enjoyment, "Sign me up!"

"No, silly billy! It's what you do the night before the wedding!" She corrected. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, Turbo! You've only known each other for a short time and now you've gone straight to MARRYING?!

"GUYS!" Finally, Sky. You got their attention. I thought I had to jump off the train, "Now that have your attention, what is our actual plan to get to the finale?!"

"Oh goodness, how could I forget?" Emma facepalmed herself and we smiled, thinking she finally understood, "We need to plan for our honeymoon."

 **(Author: W-wha... are you... I just... you did... WHY?! Seriously?)** And respect gone.

Kitty and Sky grabbed Emma's arms, "Got a sec?"

Emma smiled, "Sure thing, maid of honor!" She was pulled to the back of the cart.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Train)**

 **Zane: Is it me or is Emma more focused on Noah than she is on the game?**

 **Emma: *Camera shifts to her* Okay, putting feelings aside and concentrating on the Noah- *Gets Slapped by Kitty and Sky* THE GAME! Concentrating on the game!**

 **Zane: *Camera pans back* Okay, it's her. Just checking.**

* * *

After our train reached the destination ahead of schedule, we and the other teams piled out to the next Don Box. Unfortunately, this is part where Noah was flirting with Emma.

"I can't wait to post my review online: _Got a death wish? This is the train for you!_ "

She laughed in response, "You are hilarious!"

I had a confused face, "I don't get it."

Kitty replied, "Probably best if you don't." She took the next tip, "It's an _Either-Or: Jump Down or Jump Around."_

I read further, _"Teams can either bungee jump down the bridge and catch a local bowery fish, or jump around and perform a traditional Maori Haka: a warrior's challenge dance that terrifies their opponent subjected to watching it."_

"Jump around/down." Noah and Kitty synced. Oh, brother. I know where this is heading.

"Hm, okay it looks like our first family meeting." I'm sorry, I think I misheard that. Did you say _family_? Thankfully, her sister stepped on her foot, "Team! I mean, team meeting!" I raised an eyebrow at her in response while she gave a nervous smile.

Of course, that had to be the moment where the Ice Dancers passed by us and taunted me, "Bye, bye, Zane! We'll enjoy first place for you!"

I gave them an unimpressed look in response while Kitty muttered to me, "Who are they?"

"Just a few friends of mine." I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I was hoping we could at least get somewhere by now. Still, it's life. It's a terrible place where everything is thrown against you.

"Come on. We both have slammin' dance moves," Kitty tried to convince her sister.

"Bungee jumping is on my bucket list... if I were lame enough to have one," Noah interjected. Oh, come on. Now you're just trying to take advantage of Emma aren't you?

Speaking of that, "Ooh, this is so tough. I never thought there would be so many factors to balance between you and-"

"PICK ONE ALREADY!" I snapped with wide-eyes, "The third train's already here!" Like I said, it pulled up in front of us.

Sky groaned in frustration, "Fine, let's bungee jump!"

"Sweet," Emma was satisfied much to our dismay, "Meeting adjourned." We ran to the bungee jumping course, ready to get this challenge done. But we had to wait for the Daters/Haters who were taking a long time.

"Noah and Emma seem a little distracted," Owen pointed.

"Gee, you think?/You don't say." Kitty, Sky, and I remarked.

"Steph just jumped. Hopefully, she gets a fish and it'll be our go. But we're probably still in last-"

Emma interrupted her sister as she and Noah were goofing around (It's weird because I thought Owen would goof around), "Bring your arm a little higher... okay, okay. Good, good, don't move. Can you take a pic of me a No-No?" And the nicknames come into play.

I fake a joyful/sad face, "Aw, it'll be a heartwarming picture of love and affection." I then fake-vomited on the floor and frowned, "Okay, better now." Honestly, you don't see me and Kitty doing this. Uh... ignore that last part.

My cousin ran over to the Stephanie and Ryan, "What's taking so long? We really have to go!"

"I told you," They both were arguing with each other, "You were wasting time! You are so selfish, it makes me crazy."

"YOU'RE so slow it makes me sick!" Stephanie pointed to him.

I groaned while facepalmed, "I'm gonna go crazy if this doesn't end soon."

"Like angry crazy or Izzy crazy?" Owen asked me.

"IZZY-ANGRY CRAZY!" I practically screamed. At last, the Daters/Haters completed their challenge and it was finally our turn. Noah and Emma decided to jump together and were staring dreamily at each other until I interrupted them, "JUMP ALREADY! And take _separate_ bungee cords."

Noah sighed, "Okay."

Emma stopped him, "Wait!" AAAHHH! WHAT NOW?! "You can't jump by yourself Noah! We should try it together." New bucket list: Bungee Jump without the bungee.

"That would be so romantic." So romantic I'm gonna throw up right now, "Like that movie about that couple up on the sinking ship."

She sighed in happiness, "I love that movie."

"I've seen it 700 times." **(Author: What?! How sad was your life** ** _before_** **Emma?)**

* * *

 **(Confessional: Bridge)**

 **Kitty: Getting those two together during the competition maybe was a bad idea... *hears metal banging, turns head* and it looks like Zane is losing his mind.**

 **Zane: *Banging his head against the pole* TOO. MUCH. LOVE! TOO. MUCH. LOVE!**

 **Sky: I think he already has...**

* * *

They strapped together on separate bungees like I commanded them. Key word: COMMANDED. I decided to tag along to keep them focused.

"Should we?" Emma asked.

"Could we?" Noah asked.

"We could... and should go."

"We _are_ in a race. **(Author: *Smiling Crazy* They've did it! THEY'VE FINALLY GET IT! They're not focused on romance anymore!)** Still..."

"We're so close and... talk about our first kiss when we tell our kids." **(Author: *Falls down with the chair*)**

"Um, guys!" Owen called to them.

"The game!" Kitty and Sky added.

"I'm jumping," I sighed, deciding not to wait for them anymore. A second later they followed after me into the water. Thankfully, on the first try we were able to get the Bowery fish.

And now, we were racing to the chill zone with the fish in our hands/head.

And on our run, Emma kept ranting on what name to call her fish, "I would call it Noah, but I just think it's not cute enough. Maybe Jake after my-ex. He called me too intense! Can you believe-"

I cut her off sharply with a glare, "Remember that time when you were told to shut up? Yeah, neither did I!"

"Rude, Zane! And you wonder why I talk about you and Kitty a lot and how you two haven't become a couple yet."

I stopped in my tracks, making her fall down to the ground, gave the deadliest glare, and gritted my teeth in anger, "Ooh, I'll give you a couple bruises and broken-"

"Zane," Sky placed a hand on shoulder, "It's not worth it."

I released a breath of relief, "Right, sorry." As soon as she turned around, I gave the 'I'm watching you' sign to Emma, who only glanced nervously. Their romance has already pushed me off the edge. I sped away from them and talked to Sky, "We've gotta ditch these guys before I lose my mind even more."

She raised an eyebrow at me, "Uh... it looked like you already had."

We picked up the pace and came right after Father and Son where Don was waiting, "Acrobats, 8th place," Not too long after, the Sisters came after us, "Emma and Kitty, 9th place." The Reality TV Pros came at the chill zone last.

Should I warn you that this is the part where things get awkward or are you okay with it?

"I'm not sure what dictionary you use, but it's definition of 'alliance' is way off." Noah replied.

Emma sighed, "I'm sorry, Noah. This is what I was afraid of. I like you a lot, but I can't be with you... not on this show." He gasped in shock and fell on the ground.

 **(A/N: In other words, Emma broke up with him. Zane: Yeah, they got that.)**

"Oh boy..." Owen and I picked him up.

"Reality TV Schmos," Sky smacked Don upside the head, "Hey, watch the hair! I mean Pros, you're in last. I'm afraid it's time to go..." Owen gasped, "...is what I would say if this was an elimination round, but it isn't! Congratulations, you're still in the game."

Phew. Close call... for the most part...

"Noah? Noah!" We slapped him and fell to the ground with a sad look still on his face plus a bruise.

This may be a problem...

* * *

 **Author: Irony. It stinks. But anyway, more humor/torture was added to this chapter against Zane for humor purposes. Oh, also for your sake, I'll post two chapters that way you won't be left in a cliffhanger. You're welcome!**

 **Zane: Ya done yet?**

 **Author: Almost. Also like I said before I plan on making a prequel to this story but I still don't know where to start. Let me know in the reviews for this chapter and tell me how to make it better.**


	15. Little Bull on the Prarie

Ever since Emma crushed Noah's hopes of having a relationship, things haven't been the same. Worse yet, the Ice Dancers made a HUGE comeback and took first much to _everyone's_ dismay.

But I wasn't too concerned with it at the moment. Just let 'em gloat; they'll get bumped down soon enough.

Sky and I took the next tip from the Don Box, _"Go to Head-Smashed in Buffalo Jump."_

I raised an eyebrow, "Uh, 'Head-Smashed'? Is that even a real location or are we gonna get hurt?"

"A little bit of both." Don answered from the camera.

"Okay, just checking," We took to our stop and waited for our friends (I'm not too sure if Emma should be called one anymore) to arrive, "Taxi!" The yellow cab stopped right in front us just as the Sisters arrived, "Just in time. Now we just have to wait for Noah and-"

"Sorry, no time." Emma cut me off. I made a confused expression in response.

Kitty returned a face shock, "Wh-What?! What do you mean 'no time'? We're in alliance with them."

"If Noah and I are on a break, that means our alliance is too." She walked in the cab making her sister groan. The yellow cab took off with them inside.

So that's just it? She's gonna break up with Noah and leave it there? I was hoping that she would have a boyfriend and stay focused on the game at the same time, but that never worked out well. Now she's gone back to her competitive self again; just when I was starting to tolerate her.

Sky shook her head and sighed, "I guess somethings just never change." As much as I hated to agree, she was right. Not to mention, there was one important thing that was left.

I put a finger on my chin and realized, "Wait a minute, that was _our_ cab." The Reality TV Pros were running toward us.

Well, Owen was carrying the still saddened Noah, "Okay, buddy. We almost got a cab. Still here?" He asked us.

Sky nodded her head in approval, "Yeah, we never leave our friends behind. Especially, if one of them still in the state of shock from being rejected in front on international tv."

I elbowed and gave her a thumbs up, telling her she was doing the right thing. In case you've forgotten, Sky accidentally rejected Dave publicly on Pahkitew Island and he became heartbroken... twice. You know, he turned evil at the end of the season. Knowing my cousin, she's probably gonna try to convince Emma to give romance another chance.

I just hope they don't drive me crazy this time.

"TAXI!" I called for one and waved my hand. A yellow cab stopped in front and the four of us went inside, "Take us to the airport!" The driver took off to our location.

We piled out and made a dash to get tickets to the first flight. Only to be disappointed that the four remaining teams (a.k.a. Father and Son, Sisters, Reality TV Pros, and us) were going on the second flight. Fortunately, we were only going to be delayed 30 minutes so that gives us a small window to catch up to the other teams.

And surprise, surprise, we were sitting with the Sisters and Reality TV Pros...

"Uh, remind me again. Why are we next to Emma and Kitty again?" I questioned Sky.

"I'm trying to convince her to give Noah a chance again." She answered, "I don't want her to make the same mistake I did with Dave."

"Oh, right." As she walked to talk to Emma, I heard Dwayne and Junior listening and watching Pahkitew Island. It was nice to see they were getting along just fine, "Oh, look. You two seem to be getting along just fine." They both smiled in response.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Airport)**

 **Zane: *Grins* Wow, someone's getting the Father of the Year Award.**

 **Dwayne: *Laughs* You know Junior and I have made a real connection thanks to this race. He even called me cool.**

 **Zane: *Raises an eyebrow* Really?**

 **Junior: *Comes out of the bathroom* That was before I found his chin tattoo was meant for girls.**

 **Zane: *Laughs hard and wipes a tear away* I'm sorry, that's just priceless.**

 **Dwayne: Hey, he still said I was cool *Chuckles* and it was great. You know even if we get cut from the race, I'll still go home a happy dad.**

 **Junior: Dad, don't jinx us!**

 **Dwayne: *Laughs* Jinxes aren't real.**

 **Zane: *Raises a finger* Trust me, they are when comes to Total Drama.**

 **Pilot: *Over the Intercom*** ** _Folks, a storm over Montana is going to delay our landing._**

 **Zane: See?**

 **Dwayne: *Gets a glare from Junior* I bet the first flight was delayed too. (Author: Wait for it...)**

 **Pilot: *Intercom*** ** _Just a freak storm folks that only affects our flight._**

 **Dwayne: *Shrugs* Coinkydink!**

 **Zane: *Facepalms and walks away* I'll just give Sky the bad news.**

* * *

After giving my cousin the bad news, we had no choice but to hope we wouldn't fall too far behind. Fortunately, the storm only delayed us for another 30 minutes. Still, that didn't stop us from piling out to get our destination. We found out we had to drive pickup trucks to get to the Don Box. This time and without any warning, I was driving casually down the road. We passed by the other teams in hopes to catch up to the others.

But don't worry, I'm sure Owen was fine. He's got a driver's permit.

*CRASH*

*OINK*

*MEEEHHH*

*MOO*

*HONK*

*CRASH*

*BOOM*

See? No one got hurt... at least no person on the road.

Anyway, as we were heading to get the Don Box, until a loud growling sound broke the silence.

"Uh, what was that?" I asked in curiosity.

Sky looked a little nervous, "Um, nothing! Just keep driving." A slightly louder gurgle came again.

I smiled with some sorrow, "Sky, are you hungry?"

"No!" She denied, now visibly nervous.

*GRUMBLE*

My cousin's cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment and held her tummy, "Yes."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: Sky gets a little embarrassed when she's hungry. *shrugs* I mean besides Owen, who wouldn't?**

 **Sky: *Glares* That's not true! *stomach gurgles audibly causing her to hold it and turn nervous... again* That wasn't me! It was, um, some sort of volcano!**

 **Zane: *Smiles teasingly* Sounded like one too.**

 **Sky: *blushes again and smiles sheepishly***

* * *

After a few more minutes of driving and loud noises every few seconds (Sky's fault, not mine), we ran to the next Don Box. Well, actually I sprinted to the Don Box while she was trudging behind.

"Come on Sky, we don't have all day," I called to her while tapping my foot impatiently.

Sky's stomach growled louder making her hold it and groan again, "I just hope we can finish this challenge soon. This is embarrassing and I really can't focus on an empty stomach."

I pat her head, "I'll go as fast as I can." I pressed the button on the box giving us our next tip, "It's an _All-In: tip your hat, split your-"_

*GURGLEGURGLEGURGLEGURGLE*

Her eyes widened at the sound that erupted from her stomach, and her face turned red again, "Could you please read faster?"

I blinked back an empathetic smile and nodded at her. The last thing I need is her traumatized from humiliation, "Like I was saying: _tip your hat, split your jeans, and eat like a cowboy by all means."_

She (and her stomach) spoke up in excitement, "It's an eating challenge?!"

Her question was confirmed when I read the instructions, _"Teams must eat an entire pot of pork and beans where their next travel tip is..."_ I stopped realizing she was nowhere to be seen, "What the...? Where'd she...?" I ran inside to her already scarfing down on the pot. The Surfers, Father and Son Team were already inside doing the challenge.

Ah, Sky. What would I do without her in this race?

I walked over to her with a grin on my face, "Ya just couldn't wait, could you?"

She blushed in embarrassment while scratching her head, "Heh, a person's gotta eat..."

I shrugged my shoulders, "Point taken." I started joining my cousin in eating the pot. After a few bites I questioned her, "Shouldn't we have waited for the Sisters and Pros to arrive?"

My cousin waved her hand, "Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine." Ah, just like me. Thinking things will be okay when something bad usually happens right after.

*CRASH*

See, what'd I tell ya? I made the same mistake too and this is what we both get.

Sky and I turned our heads to see Owen crashed into the wall next to the door who only replied, "I may need to practice my driving a teensy-bit more." A TEENSY-BIT? You crashed into THE WALL! Maybe you should just stick to walking.

"I think my heart just stopped." I returned wide-eyes at the scene.

When we finished our pot, Sky reached in, grabbed the tip inside, and read it, "It's a random _Random-Botch: whoever isn't holding this tip, has to ride the mechanical bull for eight seconds."_ We walked over to the bull and I got on top of it after Brody crashed.

I snapped my fingers, "HA, this'll be a spoonful of beans!" Not even one second, the bull shook me off and I crashed near the hole of the wall, "Was that eight seconds?" I asked in daze.

"It was more like 8 milliseconds." Sky answered back, making me groan in response, "Are you gonna be okay?"

I waved my hands in remark before I sprinted back over, "Yeah, that was just a warm-up round. This time I'm ready!" After the Surfers went up, I was got on top of the bull and was launched into the wall.

Again. I slid down with my eyes spinning and moaned.

"Uh, Zane?" This time I heard Kitty's voice.

"It's okay. Third time's usually the charm." I walked back over to the machine.

 **(Author: Oh, boy. This is gonna be a rough game...)**

It turns out, third time isn't the charm...

*CRASH*

Or the fourth...

*CRASH*

Or the fifth...

*CRASH*

Or the seventh...

*CRASH*

Or the thirteenth...

*CRASH*

I groaned in pain and stumbled over to the machine again, but Sky stopped me, "I think we should take a break."

"I feel fine, Dorothy!" I denied in daze, making me way over again, "Just put me back on the-"

*CRASH*

"OH, COME ON! I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN ON YET!" I complained as Brody sat on top of me.

"Dude, this bull's brutal," He replied. You don't say, Sherlock... **(Author: Bull riding. It's harder than it looks)**

And after a long forced break plus an ice pack on my head, we went from second place to the bottom four after many failures. I hate mechanical bulls right now.

"Come on, Zane. Get back up and try again," Sky encouraged me, but it wouldn't work.

I refused by shaking my head, "No way. I just can't tame that bull; I've think I've broken five of my ribs back there."

"If you don't complete this challenge, we'll get cut from the race."

I crossed my arms stubbornly, "I'd rather have that happen than me being glued back up there again."

She returned a light glare at me, "So you can outsmart an insane host, defeat a giant ninja, scarf down an Icelandic feast, and among a lot of other things, but you can't ride a mechanical bull?"

"Yup," I popped out 'p', "Not getting back on top of it again."

Sky made a mischievous smirk that wouldn't end well for me, "Hm, fine. I guess if you don't get this done, I'll tell Kitty you have a crush on her." See?

My eyes widened and face formed into a death glare, "You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"Try me."

I growled in response and put on a determined face, "Okay, let's do this." I hopped back on the bull. After what felt like hours of holding on, I was able to ride it for eight seconds without crashing into the wall, "YES! IN YOUR FACE BULL!" I taunted while pointed at it.

She sent me a strange look, "You... do realize it's mechanical right?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Yeah, and it wrecked me about 14 times."

"It's okay, I'm pretty sure the other teams had trouble," Just right after she said that, Kitty was riding the mechanical bull and enjoying herself. She hung onto it no problem which me fall to the ground in disbelief, "Uh, nevermind. Let's just get to the finish line."

After I recovered... again, we raced out of the building and and toward the chill zone, "Acrobats, you're in 6th place." Don suddenly raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Just one question: why do you guys have _another_ pot of pork and beans?"

I blinked in response, "What are you talking about?" My head turned to see my cousin eating another full pot making me send a light glare her way, "Sky!"

She seemed surprised for a second when I called her name and replied, "What? The first pot wasn't satisfying enough." I only facepalmed and groaned in response. That little sneak. She must've grabbed another one on the way out.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Unimpressed look* Wow... you have quite the appetite don't you?**

 **Sky: *Shrugs* I'm an athlete. What did you expect?**

* * *

A little while later, the Sisters came to the chill zone earning themselves 7th place. They both started to question me why we had another pot until I replied for them not to ask. The Ice Dancers positioned themselves for 8th and surprisingly they cheered.

I'm serious, Josee didn't destroy anything at all.

The last two teams were the Pros and Father and Son. Amazingly, Owen was able to pull Noah and score themselves a close call for second to last place. Sky bumped Emma's elbow as if telling her what to do.

She walked over and apologized to her 'sort of' boyfriend, "Noah, I'm so sorry I broke you. I didn't mean to and still really like you and I want us to be together."

After a moment, Noah gasped as if coming alive, "You... you do?"

"Yes! I... I just can't do the romance thing until the race is over. After I win, you and I are so on," She smiled.

"Glad to see she's given romance another go," I remarked to Sky.

"Yup," She said back with a smile.

"Great! So when one of us wins..." He stopped when Emma dropped his head on the ground and glared at him.

"Are you not listening?! When _my_ team wins!" She told him.

Sky scratched her head awkwardly and commented, "Er... sort of."

* * *

 **A/N: And that's another chapter for the books. I thought of having Sky overreact to being hungry (even though it's probably unlike her) for humor. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure this** ** _isn't_** **how she would really react.**

 **Sky: Got that right. *stomach grumbles loudly and cheeks turn red again* Uh... gotta any snacks on you?**

 **Author: *Deadpan* ...I'm a little busy here... but anyway... please read and review the story. Because if you don't it could be even worse off.**

 **Sky: Seriously though, I'm starving right here.**

 **Author: *Sighs* Fine. And someone get her some chips or something...**


	16. Lord of the Ring Toss

Not much has happened after Emma decided to restore her relationship with Noah only after the race. It's a small step, but at least they won't be distracted to the point where I'll be driven insane. Although, I heard they won't be in our alliance anymore. It's okay, I mean it's probably for the best. Not only that, but somehow Kitty made her older sister apologize to me about... you-know-what; I'm not gonna say it out.

Because you DO know what happened back there. Moving on...

Sky and I received our next tip from the Don Box. "Looks like we're flying to the Arctic Circle by cessna with three teams per flight." Sky replied after reading from the paper.

It was obvious that we were gonna wait to get on the same flight as Owen and Noah and we did. Unfortunately, we were also aboard the same flight as the Ice Dancers. Joy.

"These tiny planes are safe right guys?" Owen asked us nervously.

One of us was going to answer back, but Josee beat us to it, "I read somewhere that 86% of planes crash." What kind of internet site, magazine, or book did you stumble upon to find that face? Though it was enough for Big Guy to crush Noah.

This was the part where I'm suppose to glare, say something sarcastic, and get Josee to back off. However, Sky was one step ahead of me, "Oh, and where'd you find that fact? Wikipedia? ? A Google Document?" Hey, now that's EXACTLY something I would say. I had no idea she was capable of that, "I didn't know you guys had the brains and skills of a three-day old melted popsicle stick."

Whoa. Savage.

That insult was enough to make me widened my eyes at her. It's saying a lot because I've shot back a lot of junk before the series.

Josee glared at her in response, "Says the athlete whose partner crashed over 14 times while riding a bull."

'Hey!' Is what I would've said in response until the war kept raging on.

Sky laughed in response, "At least mine took like a REAL man and didn't scream like a frightened little school girl." Jacques whistled nervously before he walked off somewhere else. Yeah, we stuck around long enough to hear him scream multiple times to the point where glass would break.

"Oh, yeah?! Well you... he... I... UGH!" She walked off in anger away from us then tended to her partner.

Wow. Sky: 1, Josee: 0.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: Wow, Sky. I didn't know you had it in you.**

 **Sky: *Smiles* Well, you learn a few tricks when you're with your troublemaking cousin for a while.**

 **Zane: *On the verge of crying happily and hugs Sky* You make me so proud.**

* * *

We soon arrived to the Arctic Circle from what it looked like the same time as everyone. We were given gloves, sleeves (if needed), hats, and earmuffs. Good thing too because everyone else would've froze to death. I can take temperature heat and cold. But anyway, the Daters were nowhere to be seen so they're probably on their way to the next challenge already.

I took the next tip from the Don Box, "It's a Botch-or-Watch. You're up Sky."

She pulled it from my hand, "Find a ring hidden somewhere in the snow and toss one unto a Narwhal's tusk. Then ride one of the snowmobiles east until you find the next Don Box."

"I got this one homie." Carrie said after taking the tip from the Don Box.

Devin only sighed, "Whatever." Wow, depression's already kicked in. I'm starting to debate whether his breakup with Shelly was a good thing.

The Botchers ran to search for hoops in the snow. It took my cousin a little while to find a hoop, but she was able to get it on the narwhal the first try at the same time Owen was able to get his.

"Yes!" Sky pumped a fist.

"I ringed a narwhal!" Owen cheered.

"Yay!/Nice!" Noah and I synced at the same time.

"Come on!" We ran to the snowmobiles and drove east. Some time passed until the four of us were able to find next the Don Box. In other news, the Daters (for some reason) were going back the other way. Either the Goths got the boomerang we've heard from earlier and used on them, or Stephanie and Ryan did it against themselves. I'ma go with the last one because they haven't been getting along lately from what I've seen and heard.

When we took the next tip from the Don Box and found out we had to saw blocks of snow, build them into an igloo, the race to the chill zone. Wasting no time, we got to work right away.

Still... the Daters boomeranging themselves? How much do you hate your teammate to the point where you WANT to the first challenge over again? That's a question I might never find out and really don't have time to answer.

While we were assembling our igloos, Noah presented a heart-shaped icicle much to Emma's appreciation. Only for a moment, Kitty got her back on track then waved to me for a second, and I did the same thing back. Ah, it's nice to her once in awhile. And I'll be honest, I wish I could spend more time with her... as a friend. Not to tell her... um... just keep reading.

After Sky and I finished, we had our igloo inspected by the native. It was approved giving us permission to the finish line. We arrived to see Don standing there with a semi-depressed look on his face. Man, sadness has been contagious lately, "Y-you're in 3rd place."

"Uh, what's up with you?" I questioned.

"Th-the Ice Dancers c-came in second... and they k-killed Billy!" Don pointed to the smashed snowman on the ground and cried like a baby.

I rolled my eyes in response, "Wow... your best snowman friend being murdered by Jacq and Josee; never even saw it coming." Of course, it was very easy to see that happening.

Not too long, the Sisters and Reality TV Pros came after us in 4th and 5th place.

Sky elbowed me, "Hey, Romeo? When are you gonna make your move?"

I rolled my eyes in response, "When I feel like it like say... oh, I don't know... after the race."

"Don't mind her. It's just Emma," She tried to assure me, "Kitty's way different. You've seen her."

"True." I agreed.

"Then tell her how your feelings... like right now!"

I let out a soft chuckle, "Well, what am I suppose to do? Get down on one knee, put my hands together and say 'Kitty, I just want to let you know that I..." After I did the actions I was saying, I literally stopped what I was doing in that instant and the person right there had wide-eyes with me.

"Uh..."

You guessed it: Kitty.

(Author: Wow! What are the odds of that?!)

"HA, HA, HA!" Sky laughed hard and wiped a tear from her eye, "This is so priceless!" She calmed for a second and started to walk off, "I'll just leave you two alone."

An awkward silence passed us until I broke it by clearing my throat, "So... how's it going with Emma?"

"Um, better than it did last time, but she's still a little distracted by Noah." She answered back, "At least it wasn't like it was back in New Zealand."

I groaned while crossed my arms, "Don't get me started. I mean nerve of her saying why weren't a couple back there."

Kitty replied, "In her defense, she wasn't thinking straight and completely lost her mind." Yeah, so did Courtney back in World Tour and All Stars. She wasn't exactly the greatest person to begin with.

Still, I sighed in response, "I guess you're right. I've never been in a relationship before so...yeah. I have no idea how it even works."

A gasped escaped from her, "Never?"

"Yup. I've always been a free spirit and never been interested into any girl, except for... maybe now." I admitted.

"Really?" She smiled with hope, "Who?"

"Well... uh... you see..." Wow, this is harder than I thought, "I'll tell ya later." I started to walk off.

Even though I couldn't see it, Kitty had disappointment written across her face, "Oh, okay."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Arctic)**

 **Sky: *As Zane bows in head in shame* WHY?! Why didn't you say it was her?!**

 **Zane: It's harder than it looks okay?!**

* * *

 **A/N: Man, Zane's really gotta step up his game.**

 **Zane: I'M DOING MY BEST!**

 **Author: ...Sure... whatever you say...**


	17. Got Venom

**A/N: Hello people! And good news: I'm still not dead.. yet. But anyway, I'd like to apologize for not uploading for almost two months. I've been... busy. Okay, fine. I almost completely lost interest in this and nearly gave up. But I'm back now and I here to give you another chapter of the Ridonculous Race (or should I say In-Zane Race? I really should fix that title...)**

 **But anyway, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Okay, so admitting your feelings to someone you really like is easier said than done. Or is it easier done than said? Maybe both? Okay now that I think about it, it has to do with doing AND saying it to your crush. It was easy for Noah and Emma. Why is it so hard for me and Kitty? I mean I survived seasons throughout Total Drama, downed terrible food without even gagging, and even fought a giant ninja for a commercial.

But confessing your feelings to your crush?! This couldn't get any worse...

"We're going to Flores, Indonesia. _Teams will depart on cargo planes an hour ahead based on their position from the last challenge,_ " Sky read from our next travel tip just before she shivered, "I could really use a warm-up right now."

"Then start doing some jumping jacks." I laughed at my joke. "Heh, heh. Get it?"

"Ha, ha. Very Funny, Zane." She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "Jokes aside, shouldn't you tell Kitty that you like her?"

"Of course I tell her..." Sky brightened up at my response, "...as a friend." She frowned at the last part, while I sighed, "Who am I kidding? Of course I want to be more than her friend. I... just can't do it."

"But if you don't confess your feelings, she'll give up and you two may never be together at all." I frowned at her truth. She was right, but I just couldn't mount up the courage to tell her that I liked her.

At least back there, but now I felt like it this was my last chance.

I shrugged in response the grinned, "You're right, Sky. Guess it's now or never. I'll do it! I'll tell her."

She smiled at my face crossed with determination as I walked toward her, "There's the Zane I know."

I walked over to Kitty, who was sitting by herself with sadness written all over her, "Hey, Kits!"

She turned back to me with some surprise, "Zane?" Kitty stood up, "Um... what do you... I... uh... you wanted to say something to me?"

I nodded my head, "Yeah... um... I've wanted to tell you that... ehm..." Come on, Zane. Now or never! "I... like..." I stopped as I heard a crack in the ice, "What was-"

"YAAHH!" We screamed in surprise as a narwhal suddenly popped out of the snow with its horn intent to hurt us. Kitty jumped into my arms to avoid it, while I held her. It suddenly went over and popped the tires on one of the planes we were supposed to be departing from.

Both of us presented wide-eyes at that moment, "So... uh... you were saying...?"

I let out a breath of relief, "Okay, I was trying to say-" The narwhal from earlier, popped up from behind me. I jumped in order to avoid its horn again, but this time into Kitty's arms. It popped the second plane's tires, which left only one plane left.

"Uh..." We released in nervousness.

"EVERYONE ON THE LAST PLANE RIGHT NOW! GO! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! HURRY!" Everyone else who hadn't received their tips, pressed the buttons on the Don Box in a hurry and made a break for to mention, Jacques screamed like a girl again as he and Josee were running onto the plane.

*Laughs* What can I say? It's funny to me... at least for a moment anyway.

So with all the teams (and a slightly angry Zane and depressed Kitty) tied, we were all in a tie on our flight to Indonesia. As soon as the plane landed, all of us piled out. Sky and I running behind the Sisters and in front of the Reality TV Pros. We were quickly passed by the Ice Dancers who took a luggage cart.

"Bye, bye! See you at the finish line!" Josee taunted as she and Jacques passed by. But, instant karma was served to them when they turned back around to avoid the plane that was going back.

I called back to them with a smile on my face, "Alright, we'll meet you there!" After a short run, we stopped by the road, "Taxi!"

Owen and Noah caught up to us a second later, "We need a taxi!"

"Hey, Noah! Over here!" Emma called us, with a taxi ready. We ran over to get inside the taxi; it was a little tight squeeze.

And might I say the seating arrangements seemed to be set on purpose...

"Just look at that: sapphire blue waters, hot, steamy jungles... I wish it just were the two of us." Noah flirted with Emma.

She sent back a smile to him, "Uh, Noah, we're not supposed to be dating 'til _after_ the race."

"I know, I was talking to Owen." Wow... way to use sarcasm Casa-Noah.

Emma laughed, "You're too funny!"

Kitty sent an uncomfortable look to me while I sent an unamused expression with a mutter, "And they wanted to talk about _our_ behavior." She nodded her head in agreement.

"We heard that." Noah and Emma glared at me. I shrugged as if saying that I didn't care at all... which was true. We stopped at a komodo dragon sign.

"Dragon crossing? Ha! I gotta get a selfie with this!" Kitty exclaimed with her cell phone out; I raised an eyebrow at her in response.

"OH!" Owen screamed and pointed at a komodo dragon approaching the car, "OMG! THAT IS TERRIFYING!" We all had wide-eyes as it stood in front.

I replaced my frightened look with a confident smirk, "Don't worry. As long as we're in the car, we're perfectly safe." Right after I said that, the dragon tore of the front bumper with its teeth and spat it out. We screamed in terror while Kitty and I hugged each other on instinct.

"GO, GO, GO! RUN IT OVER!" Sky order the driver. He was close: he missed it by a couple feet and hit the dragon crossing sign instead.

"This place is crazy!" Owen spoke in terror.

"Relax, I've smelled your farts for many years. If anything, those dragons should be afraid of you." I sent Noah a 'Really?' look while Emma laughed at his remark.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: I can't tell if he's doing that on purpose just to get himself or Emma eliminated.**

 **Sky: *Nods her head***

* * *

When the taxi arrived at our destination, all of us (with the Best Friends) ran over to get the next travel tip. Only for it to be guarded by a sleeping komodo dragon.

"Seriously?" Sky groaned in annoyance.

"Uh... so who wants to be first?" Noah asked anyone in particular.

"First on the menu? No thanks." I answered back.

"Oh, just honk dude and it'll scatter." Brody said as he and Geoff got out of their taxi when they arrived. He honked the horn, which woke it up in a few seconds. The dragon chased after the fleeing taxi, "See? Told ya."

Sky ran up to the Don Box and got the next tip, "It's an _All-In: How to Milk Your Dragon._ Wait, what?"

I read the rest of the instructions, " _Teams must collect one vial of komodo dragon drool and hand it to the local for your next tip. Warning: side effects of getting bitten include headache, dizziness, and getting eating by a komodo dragon."_

We ran to the next part of the challenge, "Isn't this a little dangerous?" Owen asked.

Before I could reply sarcastically, Devin beat me to it, "Danger? We all die eventually." Yeesh, what's up with him?

The six of us met in one of the local houses... tents... house tents... forts even? I don't know what they are honestly. But anyway, we met up in one of them. Well, Sky and I met up with Owen and Noah. Emma joined us in order to spend time with her 'boyfriend'.

Kitty climbed up the fort, "Hey, so I know you're in a happy place, but can we do this one like without Owen and Noah?"

Emma turned back to her, "Why? They've always helped us. Wait a second... you said _Owen_ and _Noah_. Aw, you want to spend time with Zane!"

Kitty blushed while I glared at her sister, "Hey, you leave me out of this!"

"Besides that the PDA is starting to throw off our game." She continued.

"You're exaggerating." Emma said after she scoffed. Oh, really? Then how do you explain yourself being held by Noah in a cuddling position (Sort of...)?

"I don't wanna take sides, but Kitty might be right." Noah replied.

"Hey!" I sent an angry look to him.

"I meant about that game." He corrected with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh..." I felt my cheeks heat up a little.

Emma sighed, "Fine, just five more minutes." And by five more _minutes,_ she means five more _decades_. But that was enough time for me confess my feelings to Kitty.

I walked over to her, "Okay, so like I saying back in the Arctic, I like-"

Sky seemed to helping us with our alliance with the Owen and Noah. Too bad it just so happened to be the time I was talking to my crush, "Okay, time's up. Go away."

"W-wait, Sky! Just five more..." It was too late. Emma and Kitty had already walked off in the distance. I facepalmed at her action; it wasn't even five seconds!

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Glares* Couldn't you have waited** ** _after_** **I was done?**

 **Sky: *Shrugs in confusion* Done with what? *Widens eyes realizing* Oh... aw, crud. *Facepalms***

* * *

The Reality TV Pros and us went into the jungles where the dragons were roaming about. We hid behind a rock where we saw a couple of them licking on bones with their saliva visible on them.

"They look a little harmless..." Sky said. One of them suddenly ate of the horn of the fossilized bone which made us cringe for a second.

"Yeah, they're definitely harmless _._ " I sarcastically said with an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe they won't try to eat us unless they're already full!" Owen smiled.

Noah responded, "Being full never stops you from eating. Let's wait 'til they're done and grab some spit from the carcass."

"Great idea!"

"Okay." Sky and I spoke with shrugs.

"That gives us some free time. What should we do with it; maybe see what the Sisters are doing? Okay." Noah didn't wait for answer and sped away from us.

"Hey, Get back here!" I glared as I gave chase to him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jungle)**

 **Owen: I love that Noah's happy and doesn't care for the race anymore, except for the part where he doesn't care for the race anymore.**

 **Sky: Why not just take charge so we can win this?**

 **Owen: Hey, that's a good idea! I'll be leader of our team slash alliance from now on! *Runs off***

 **Sky: *Calls* I meant the both of us!**

* * *

I pulled Noah back near Owen and Sky were, tossed him on the ground, and waved a finger, "Bad Noah!"

"Aw, come on, Zane. Just a few minutes?" He begged with his hands together.

I shook my head, "Not even for a second." He mumbled under his breath.

"Check it out!" We walked over to where Owen and Sky were viewing a layer of komodo dragon skin on the ground, "That komodo exploded or something."

"It's just skin. I guess komodo molt like every other reptile." Noah voiced. Owen gasped as if he had a ridiculous idea, which he did, "Uh-oh, I see wheels turning."

"If I wear a komodo skin, I could just crawl up to one and swipe some spit!"

"WHAT?! Are you deranged?!" Sky screamed at him.

"Yeah, Owen. That's crazy!" I tried to reason, then placed a finger on my chin, "But it just might work... and it's all we have."

"We're gonna watch him make out with a komodo dragon?" Noah asked us.

Owen laughed, "No! But I won't rule it out." He snorted, "And it wasn't my plan." That's a relief. I can barely stand it when Noah and Emma romance with each other. I can't even imagine what it would look like if Owen and a komodo dragon did it.

* * *

 **(A/N: One crazy idea later...)**

* * *

Owen put on the skin and crawled up to a group of komodo dragons, while the three of us hid behind a rock. Operation: Spit and Release was a go.

"Hey, g'day mates! Mind if I join in, yeah?" He said in an Australian accent. How in the world was this going to work?

"Why would he fake an accent?" Noah voiced out as if it wasn't gonna work.

"As long as he gets the vials of spit, we should be okay." Sky answered back. Owen chewed on one of the bones, whilst the komodo went back to eating theirs.

I raised an eyebrow at the scene and released, "Wow... I don't even know what to say on this one."

The komodo suddenly licked on Owen's cheek and in response made him laugh, "Oh, like you too!" He licked on the dragon's face.

You heard right. He LICKED the dragon's face in response. I looked at the scene in disbelief then to the camera, while Sky and Noah threw up in the bushes a few feet away from me.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Owen: I like making new friends! I'm gonna call him Chewy!**

 **Noah: *Sighs* How are you still alive? (A/N: That's a good question)**

* * *

He got the vial of saliva from the bone and tossed it to me. I caught it and dropped the drool in my vial, "Ha, ha, beauty! Well, I just be going off- AAH!" The komodo dragon from earlier tackled him into the dirt. At first we thought his cover was blown, but then the reptile was actually sticking out its tongue in... happiness, "Or not."

The komodo purred as it sat on top of him, "A little help, mate?!"

"He's your boyfriend! You dump him!" Noah called back.

"Actually, I think it's a female." I interjected.

"How?"

"Don't know. I'm just trying to keep this story rated T." Sky and Noah raised an eyebrow in response. Whoops, I broke the fourth wall again.

"What?" They both said.

"Nothing."

And after an hour or so of no progress...

"We're gonna end up in last place!" Noah exclaimed.

"You mean one of us is gonna end up in last place." Sky corrected.

"Oh, no!" Owen exclaimed in terror, "Chewy's drooling in his sleep!"

"I still think it's a-" I was interrupted by his scream of pain.

"Ah, AAH! AAH! The venom's in my eye!" Owen then farted which woke up the komodo dragon and scared it away. I'd run away too if I woke up to his gas.

* * *

 **Owen: *shrugs* I guess farting's a side effect of komodo venom.**

 **Noah: *holding his nose* No, it isn't...**

* * *

"Didn't see that coming." We ran up to the local and the kid gave us our next travel tip, "Alright, we have to search these piles of textiles for the Ridonculous Race rug and we get to the chill zone."

The four of us ran over, until Owen tripped and we picked him back for a moment, and continued toward the pile, "Okay, I'll search this pile, you two go over there, and you..." Noah stopped when Owen tripped again on a rug.

Might I add that his eye is swollen from the venom, "Aah! I landed on my keys." Owen said in pain.

He replied, "New plan: we'll search and you... try not to hurt yourself."

"LET'S DO IT!" Owen ran into a pile of rugs and was able to find a Ridonculous Race rug, "YES! Found one!" But he caused an avalanche to come right on top of Noah, while me and Sky ran to safety before it came on top of us, "Uh, Noah?"

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I AM!" He screamed from the pile beside us.

Sky sighed, " _New,_ new plan: you search for Noah while we try to find our rug and join you as soon as we're done." The Cadets and Surfers arrived a moment later, "Go, go, go!" We ran toward another pile of textiles in a hurry. After a few minutes of searching, we got a Ridonculous Race rug. We joined in Owen's search for Noah, right after we pulled a rug from his head. We looked in different piles for our friend.

Unfortunately in our search for Noah, the Surfers and Cadets already found their own rugs and finished the challenge. "Great, now only one of us get to complete the challenge or face elimination." I frowned at our streak.

"It's okay, guys. Just go to the chill zone." Noah said from somewhere in the pile.

"Wait, what?" My eyes widened in response, "No way! We've gotten to the finals in Total Drama before. You haven't, not once!"

"It's okay. We've had a good run!"

"That's not a good reason." I frowned in remark.

I heard him sigh from the pile, "Owen, throw them away from us!"

"Okay. I don't know how that's gonna help, but whatever you say." He replied.

"I'm sorry, wha-" I stopped as Owen picked me up and threw me toward the chill zone with the rug, while Sky landed on top of me, "Darn it, Noah!"

"Acrobats, you've come in 8th place." Don announced.

"Woo-hoo." Sky and I had no enthusiasm in our voices whatsoever (it was more like pain). After got Don was done telling the Reality TV Pros they were eliminated, we walked over to the pile to help Owen fish out Noah.

Emma joined us a moment later, "Noah? Noah? If I could find you, I'd totally kiss you."

"HERE I AM!" Noah's head popped out of the pile.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *In complete disbelief* Wha-W... how-d... you-j... WHY?! *Crosses arms with a glare* Seriously, Noah?!**

 **Sky: *Sighs***

* * *

"Aw, where was that energy a minute ago?!" Owen complained. My thoughts exactly!

Emma hugged Noah (or at least his head), "You meet me at the final chill zone after I win, and we'll go on our first date okay?"

"What about the 'I totally kiss you thing'?" She kissed him just as she promised before. I looked on in disbelief then to the camera for the second time.

Something told me they'd be eliminated sooner or later, but not like this...

* * *

 **A/N: And that's another chapter for the books. I was kinda sad that Owen and Noah were eliminated this episode. I thought for sure they would've gotten further. I mean you'd think they probably make it to the finals. Anywho, after this I still plan on doing other stories for the Total Drama Series before the Ridonculous Race, but I still don't know where to start. Let me know in your reviews if I should go from the very beginning of the show or somewhere in the middle.**

 **'Til then, I'll see you in the next chapter. Buh-Bye!**


	18. Dude Buggies

Well, last challenge could've gone as poorly as it could've. I'd never thought Noah would stick his neck (or in that case head) out for us in order to let me and Sky stay in the race. Even if it was so that he and Emma would get together at the end. And speaking of getting together, I still haven't gotten around to telling Kitty that I like her and time is winding down for me.

Still, that wasn't our major concern right now...

"Hey, we're going to Las Vegas." I read from the tip, smiling.

"Actually, we're going to a desert in Las Vegas." Sky said as she looked at it.

I crossed my face in confusion, "Wait, what? Let me see. Uh..." I skimmed through the rest of it and she was right, making me roll my eyes in response, "Wow. I've never been more disappointed in my life. NOT!"

We ran to the airport and all the teams took off on the same plane. An 18-hour flight which gave us an opportunity for plenty of rest. The flight was... interesting; at least to say. With Ice Dancers with a garlic and a wooden stake, and Devin more focused on the race. It looks like he passed through the stages of heartbreak. Me? I had to confess my feelings to Kitty. Which I what I was going to do, then I got shy and gave up.

 **(A/N: Dude, Seriously? Man up.)**

With that aside, we made an alliance with the Sisters. Not just so I could spend time Kitty, mostly to keep Emma focused on the race. Even with Noah gone, she's somehow become more distracted than she usually has. Which was something we were dealing with as we we're getting into our taxi...

"Noah hated cabs," Emma continued as if she broke up with him, "He called them germ-incubators. Aw, so Noah."

"Emma..." Sky frowned to her.

"UGH! I keep falling into Noah-dazes." She groaned for a moment, "Every once in awhile you might have to slap me."

"Okay." I shrugged, then me and Kitty slapped her at the same time on opposite cheeks. We both laughed in response.

"OW! I meant when I go into a Noah-daze!" She glared at us.

"Hey, if you're gonna be a lawyer you're gonna have to learn to be more specific." Kitty responded, "I can see a perfect outline of me and Zane's hands on your face." She laughed and took a picture of it.

"So do you wanna us to slap you again?" I asked Emma.

"No-AH!" I didn't wait for her to answer, "I SAID when I'm in a Noah-daze!"

I shrugged innocently, "What? You said No-ah. Noah. So I assumed you were going into a Noah-daze." Kitty and I laughed again as she got into the cab with us.

After a short drive into the desert, we stopped and ran up to the Don Box, "It's an Either-Or: Dune-Buggy Bonanza or Magic Show." Sky read from the travel tip.

"I think we should do Dune-Buggies." I voiced my thoughts out loud.

"Noah, would've loved doing the magic show. He- UH!" I slapped Emma out of her Noah-daze... this time for real, "Buggies."

"Glad we see eye-to-eye." I responded with a smile evident on my face. We took off in the taxi again and arrived at the challenge course for the Dune-Buggies.

Sky explained the next part out loud, "Okay, the challenge is for us to collect three flags in a minute or less. One player controls the buggy with a remote from the watchtower above, while the other holds probably for their own life and grabs the flags. Oh and if the buggy crashes or the passenger flies out, we have to start all over."

"Which one of us should drive?" Kitty asked as we ran to the course.

"You're better at video games than me, but can you handle it?" Emma asked her sister.

"I think so..." She put a finger on her mouth.

Sky turned to me, "Okay, so how we decide on the driver is by drawing straws. The one with the longest..." She stopped as I pulled out the long line of straws put together which made her sigh, "Seriously?"

"What? You should've saw this coming a _mile_ away." I laughed at my joke, "Heh, heh. Get it?"

*Cricket Noises*

Sky and Emma giggled while I glared at Kitty, who was smirking, "Ha, ha. You're very funny with your cricket sound effects." What about you guys? Thought my joke was funny?

 **(A/N: Dude, no one thought that was funny. Not even me... and I laugh at A LOT of stuff. Zane: *Glares* Oh, shut up.)**

After getting geared up for the challenge, Kitty and I climbed up the watchtower along with MacArthur and Brody (for some reason. He came back to do the challenge again, even though him and Geoff completed it already). I directed the controls with Sky in the buggy. I drove her over the ramp and she caught a flag. A little bit of driving later, Kitty had Emma cut off Sanders and her sister caught the flag.

"Yes!" She cheered.

MacArthur glared at her, "You just cut me off! NO ONE CUTS ME OFF!" Take a chill pill sister.

"I'm just trying to get flags, same as you."

"Chillax, MacArthur. It's not like this is Terminal V-"

She cut me off, "Chillax? CHILLAX?!" MacArthur pushed me and Kitty into the wall as we were driving our dune buggies, "OH, IT IS ON! You're gonna have a hard time taking selfies when I snap your little toothpick arms off and you makin' jokes when I remove your squeaky little voicebox!" Squeaky?! My voice is as high as a lion purring in its sleep!

"Hey, this squeaky voicebox needs to-"

"Back off mall cop!" Kitty cut me off, "I've got a brown belt in fusion kickboxing yoga!"

I raised an eyebrow in response, "Wait, that's actually a real-"

"HA! BRING IT ON PRINCESS!" I was cut off again when MacArthur yelled over me.

"OH, IT'S ALREADY BRUNG! Brought?" Kitty's face crossed in confusion.

"It's brought." I corrected.

"Whatever!" She shook it off.

"...So... can I have a moment to-"

"NO!" They didn't even give me a chance to go to the confessional.

I frowned in response, "Of course, I can't. So I'll just say it right here and now: this jokester is caught up in the middle again." I screamed as they both pushed each other into the walls back and forth with me right in the crossfire. Not only we were getting smashed, but our passengers below us felt the pain.

 _"Zane, what's going on?!_ " Sky screamed in terror as she, Emma, and Sanders were bumping into each other.

"I'm- OW!- in the middle of- OW!- of a -OW!- road rage up here- OW!" I commed back to her on my mic while Kitty and MacArthur were fighting with me still in the middle of it, "CHILLAX, ALREADY GIRLS! AAH, LET IT GO!"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **MacArthur: I never let anything go. When I was six, my babysitter forgot to give me desert... *Death glare* which she promised.**

 **Sanders: *Sighs* What did you do to her?**

 **MacArthur: Nothing... yet. *Gets up in the camera with a death glare still on her face* I know where you live Jennifer Masterson!**

* * *

 **(Dune-Buggy Course)**

 **Emma: Maybe putting you in charge of the controls, wasn't a good idea.**

 **Kitty: *Nervous look* Of course it was. I'm on fire!**

 **Zane: *Appears with a glare* Yeah, and so is my ribcage.**

 **Emma: One time, Kitty got pwned online, and she smashed the console... and the living room.**

 **Kitty: Things got a little out of hand, but I've got in under control. I swear, I've got this. Though, every time I tried to go on a streak, RocketxSlayer would camp in the same spot, get me every single time, and pwn me on purpose. That guy was annoying.**

 **Zane: *Laughs nervously* Ehh...** **I'm sure that guy is very sorry for what he did and wishes he hadn't messed with you. *scratched head nervously* I mean if he met you right now you'd probably pound the daylights out of him and wish you two hadn't crossed paths. *Feebly* He wouldn't want that to happen! *Nervous chuckle***

 **Kitty and Emma: *stare at him strangely***

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **...This is pretty awkward...**

 **.**  
 **.**

 **.**

 **Zane: *Points behind himself* I'm... gonna go back to the challenge and like I said I'm sure RocketxSlayer was VERY sorry. *Runs off***

 **(Author: I don't think he could've made it even more obvious it was him...)**

 **Emma: *after a moment of silence* Well, that was weird.**

 **Kitty: You don't think that...? *Waves a hand away with a nervous grin* No, it couldn't. *Loses smiles* Could it?**

* * *

When the six of us got three flags, we saw we were off by three seconds. Kitty and MacArthur glared at each other; yes, I'm still caught in the middle.

"...Can I have some personal-"

"NO!" Both denied my request before I finished, making give another frown.

"Of course, I can't." Man, I've raged before in video games, but not this much! The second time, there was even smashing, bashing, and ribs breaking (that last part was mostly me). I saw this coming from MacArthur, never even saw this coming from Kitty!

And that's not joke for the internet to enjoy!

"Get out of my way!" MacArthur pushed me and Kitty into the wall.

"YOU get out of MY way!" She tackled back and put MacArthur and I into the other side.

"How about you both let me-"

"NO!"

I frowned for the ump-teenth time that day when they interrupted my objection, "Of course, you can't."

 _"Zane, stop the fight! I'm getting sick of it!"_ I heard Sky gag a little before she was able to swallow it down, _"Literally."_

"You're not the only one!" I said back to her as Kitty and MacArthur kept pushing us back and forth. I eventually got tired of it, "Okay, that's it!" I was able to pull myself out of the tussle.

"Hey, where you think you're going?!" MacArthur yelled back as I getting on the ladder.

"Up." I answered her, climbing onto the roof of the watchtower. Sure, it wasn't safe, but getting caught in the middle of a gamer/cat fight was way more dangerous. I sighed in relief, "Safe and- AAH!" I screamed in terror as MacArthur actually head-butted into the roof next to me.

"We're not done yet Blackwood!" She threw a death glare my way, "I've got a score settle with you!"

"WHAT SCORE?!" I yelled back in frustration. Kitty then kicked a hole in the roof. Either she knew about the you-know-what thing, or she was trying to protect me. "AAH!"

"You leave him out of this!" Kitty screamed, trying to help... which she wasn't doing a very good job on.

I jumped around to evade the attacks coming from down below from both girls while screaming terror, "JUNK! AH, CRUD! YIPE! AAH!" Meanwhile, Sky was probably hanging on for her life down in the track.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dune-Buggy Course)**

 **Zane: *Frowning* Being attacked by a gorilla with a badge AND your crush trying to protect you who HAS the strength of a gorilla is not a good way to leave this world...**

* * *

"STOP. TRYING. TO. BEAT. ME!" I begged for mercy as I dropped back down into the tower; both of them trying to hit me. Not to mention, Carrie joined us up here and even she was having a hard time avoiding the crossfire too.

"JOKESTER!" MacArthur screeched at me as I evaded her attacks and at least let Kitty try to fend her off for me. Except even she was having hard time trying to keep her back.

After much dodging, I finally snapped right then and there, "That's it! It's like I always say: if you can't join 'em, BEAT 'EM!" I pushed her back toward the opposite wall. I punched MacArthur back as she tried to hit me. MacArthur appeared behind us and locked us in a bear hug.

 _"ZANE, STOP FIGHTING AND DRIVE ME TO THE FLAGS!"_ Sky commed loudly into my earpiece.

"Sorry, Sky! But I have a fight to finish!" I exclaimed in pain. I stepped on MacArthur's foot, head-butted her, and elbowed her to the wall. Carrie had crashed Devin, and exited the tower in order to switch challenges along the Ice Dancers.

The last thing I need is another fighter in this ring!

After a while, we stopped fighting and focused more on the challenge this time, "Sanders, last flag coming up!" MacArthur called to her partner.

"Don't miss it Emma!" Kitty commed to her sister.

"You got this Sky!" I said to my cousin. Our teammates were able to grab the flags at 53 seconds on the sixth time.

"YEAH!/ We did it!/ Finally!" We cheered on our accomplish.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Emma: I'm proud of my sister for finishing that challenge without breaking anything... especially me.**

 **Zane: *Off-screen* And me!**

 **Kitty: Aw.**

* * *

 **MacArthur: I never would've pegged Kitty and Zane as the race rage types. Makes me like them more.**

* * *

 **Sky: I'm so glad that we got out of there with no damage.**

 **Zane: *Laughs* Speak yourself. I think Kitty and MacArthur dislocated my rib cage.**

* * *

We made a break for the chill zone ahead, "Cadets, you're 3rd! Sisters, 4th! Acrobats, 5th place!" Don announced.

All of us cheered, until I fell on the ground in pain, "Ow." Sky helped me up from the ground, "Oh, ouch, ow, ow! Not too shabby." I walked over away from the carpet to sit down by myself.

"Hey." I turned my head at Kitty who was sitting right next to me. I turned my head away from her depressingly, and mader her, "Sorry about that fight back there. I was only trying to help you."

"It's okay," I forgave her, "What mattered was that you tried to defend me... and still three of my ribs were broken in that fight."

Kitty scratched her head nervously for a moment before she asked me something, "I actually want to know something that's been bothering me for a bit."

I smiled confidently, "Sure. Ask me anything."

"Are you RocketxSlayer?" I froze at that question, completely surprised and unprepared at the moment. I knew I wasn't gonna keep that a secret for long. Of course, lying isn't an option. I mean she's bound to find out sooner or later.

"Um... yes." Before she could even move a muscle, I rambled on, "I know it looks bad for me! I'm so sorry! I didn't it was you- I mean it probably could've been anyone because the gamer net is so large and people build up their skills. I thought camping was a legitimate strategy and was just a newbie back then and obsessed with video gaming. I didn't mean to do it and just wanted everyone to know that I was good. Please don't hurt me!" I covered my face expecting a punch.

It didn't come, but instead a gasp, "You were obsessed with gaming?"

"Yeah..." I replied uneasily.

" _I_ was obsessed with gaming too!" Kitty grinned widely.

"Really? You were?" I raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"Yeah. One time I played Hockey All-Stars...for two days straight." Wow, she beats my standards for obsessed gaming, "Until Emma unplugged my console and told me to take a shower."

I chuckled, "Reminds me of me. I played Terminal Velocity that long... and with no breaks. I was on a VERY long winning streak and about to score another win."

"Really?" I nodded my head at her question, "What happened after?"

"The power went off." She laughed in response, "Yeah, it turns out I accidentally set my console on the 'Large Power Consumption' setting instead of 'Power Save'. Fortunately, my parents had a backup generator and installed it... then I was grounded for that next couple days."

"Oh, so you were the racing type?"

"Yup. I must've been so famous, that some players would quit before the race would even start. I moved onto first-person action games after that. Since I was new at it, I would camp to activate scorestreaks. Then I must've gotten cocky and pwn everyone who tried to even get a streak."

Kitty gave a smug smile, "Really? And how did that go?"

"Pretty good until it came back to haunt me now. A.K.A you and MacArthur relocating my rib cage." I returned a playful smirk.

She blushed and scratched her head in response, "Heh, heh, yeah. I held that grudge for a really long time."

"Well look at it this way, you made me learn some important lessons."

"And what would they be?"

"For starters, never camp again is at the top of list." We both laughed after my statement.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's another chapter done and we're just episodes away from the finale. I decided to add Zane in the fight for humor and entertainment, and for this moment at the end.**

 **But take this chapter as a lesson: if you ever think about camping in a shooter game, don't do it. It'll came back to haunt you.**

 **And it's very annoying.**


	19. Author's Note: Prequel?

**A/N: Hey, hey, hey! How's it going? It's King Goody Two-Shoes here to bring you another update of the Mischievous Jokester story with Zane Blackwood.**

 **See I'm kinda in a funk here and don't know where to start the prequel of my story. The reason I was trying to be careful in the dialogue of this story is that I don't want mess things up and confuse any present or future readers who read both (or more) stories I may throw down in the saga I plan to write. I'm also trying to update weekly to bi-weekly if possible since I've started school yesterday.**

 **I've now created a poll on where I can start the Mischievous Jokester prequel. It should show on my profile at the top of the page. Let me know where I can start and I'll continue on from there.**

 **Note that I will also take votes from reviews as well and will update either this weekend or the next.**


	20. El Bunny Supremo

**Welcome back everyone! And just like I said, I bring you another chapter of the Karmic Trickster Series! Yeah, I've decided to give Zane and new label since this one kinda brings a little more sense to personalities and actions. I'm also thinking about spelling his name differently. Either putting an 'h' or 'y' next to Z in his name.** **I just think the 'y' makes it look cool, but might be to... girl-ish. 'H' just be not be enough.**

 **But anyways, here's an update of the poll results.**

 **TDA: 4**

 **TDI: 3**

 **TDWT: 2**

 **TDAS: 0**

 **Frankly, I'm surprised Total Drama Action got more votes than Island or World Tour. But the poll's still up for grabs and sometime by the end the story's over, I'll start at that season for the prequel.**

 **Oh and spoiler alert: I put a King of the Hill reference in here. Should be pretty easy to spot.**

 **So without further ado...**

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 **Let the reading commence!**

* * *

And so after making up after the challenge, Kitty and I were closer friends than ever. We got to know each other better and even spent time racing dune-buggies after the challenge (that time is was more fair with no bones or rib cages are were dislocated), plus the Acrobat-Sister alliance looked like it was in danger, but it stayed and became strong.

But I was a little tense over my old enemies (the Ice Dancers) and those two looked like they were gonna try something funny...

"We're going to Mexico in a chicken bus." Sky said as she read from the tip.

"In or outside Mexico?" I asked in order to know if it's some kind of trick or something.

"In Mexico." She answered, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Okay. Just wanted to be sure." We ran toward to the bus along with the Sisters, where the other teams were inside... and found out it wasn't called a 'chicken bus' for nothing.

It was full of chickens. N-no, I'm serious. Literal chickens.

"Uh..." I released at the scene with a confused look.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Kitty: When we heard we were taking the 'chicken bus', we thought you know... it was just an expression...**

* * *

"Say cheese chiquita!" Kitty took a selfie with chickens in the background, and I chuckled to myself in response. Sky and I were sitting next to the Sisters on the bus because... well, you know: we're in an alliance.

"Ah, what if we turned them against each other?" I overheard Jacques whispering to his partner.

"Won't work. They're stuck together like glue." Josee replied. At first I thought they were talking about my cousin and I, or even our alliance with the Sisters.

"Maybe the Goths don't have weaknesses."

" _Everyone's_ got a weakness." She looked at them and saw Ennui pet their rabbit, Loki, "Weakness!" Uh-oh. I see poison in her tongue. I thought for sure they would try and sabotage us first, but now I see what they're really doing. The Ice Dancers are trying to knock out the competition one by one by playing their own rules on engagement!

It's like they've been studying Heather's old tactics.

"What about that Acrobats?" I tuned in even more to their conversation. "They're a strong team."

"They're just lucky Jacq, and you know it!" HA! Luck. Can you believe these guys?

"They gotten top placement over most teams most of the race. No can have that sort of luck." See? He agrees. "And they have too much of a bond to break apart."

"I've heard they formed an alliance with the Sisters." RED ALERT! RED ALERT! DANGER DANGER! "If possible, we can destroy all four of them and the gold will be ours!"

I elbowed Sky and pointed behind me to the Ice Dancers as if saying, 'Watch out for those two.' She nodded her head in compliance. The last thing I need is Emma and (especially) Kitty to turn against me. I'll never get that kiss from her!

...Uh... ignore that last part...

Anywho, 18 hours later, we arrived at our destination in Mexico. All of us ran to the Don Box, and I pressed it after the Sisters received theirs, "It's an _All-In: Who Loves Peppers and Who Loves Dip? Teams must eat one hot pepper from the food cart and wave the corresponding food color. Then your other teammate will climb up and cliff dive depending on the pepper you ate. Eat the hottest, and your team member gets dive off from the shortest height. A mid-range is a medium-high jump, and the mildest pepper will force your teammate to dive from the highest peak."_

I decided that I would eat from the peppers and Sky would dive from the cliff. I can handle spice! One time, I ate all the peppers at a 10th birthday party and drank no milk. Didn't feel any burns on my tongue. Kitty did the same thing as I was doing... but I'm not sure if it's just because if I'm doing it...

"The hottest one can't be that bad." Just right after Kitty said that, we saw MacArthur crawled over with her face red.

"Kill... me..." She strained until she was knocked out a little.

All of us (except Crimson) had wide-eyes at the scene, and grew wider as we saw Devin drinking from the water a short distance, "AAH! I can't feel my head!"

 **(A/N: Warning: side effects of hot peppers MAY include nausea, head trauma, vomiting, and possibilities of internal cramping and/or extreme heartburn. Remember readers, take these steps before you even think about it.)**

"Okay, medium pepper it is!" Kitty declared. She took the green one from the basket.

Despite the display, I smiled and shrugged, "What do you mean? Hottest pepper looks safe to me!" I took the red pepper and was prepared to eat it.

"Zane, NO!" She tried to stop me.

It was too late, I ate it in one bite, "Sorry, I couldn't hear ya. I was busy eating my pepper." Needless to say, nothing happened, "See? Nothing to it!"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 **.**

.

.

.

.

.

.

...until a few seconds later, I felt the volcano touching my throat, "AAAAHHH! AAH! HELP! OH! IT BURNS! HOT STUFF! HOT STUFF!" I sped over to the red flag and waved it, "SKY, DIVE ALREADY! DIVE!" She quickly dove in the water to get the canteen of milk.

 **(A/N: I warned you about the side effects. See what happens when you assume your own strength?)**

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Emma: The "bravest" decision isn't always the smartest decision, and Zane learned that the hard way.**

 **Kitty: Seriously. I like spicy foods, but those peppers are hotter than the sun!**

* * *

 **(Confessional: Near the Cliffs)**

 **Zane: *Holding neck while waiting for canteen of milk* That's a hot pepper I tell ya h-what.**

* * *

Turns out, eating the medium pepper was probably less painful. At least, I thought it was until Kitty ate it, "AAAAHHH! HOT! HOT! IT BURNS!" She ran to get the green flag and waved it to Emma, "JUMP!"

By the time her sister jumped into the water, Sky sprinted back with a canteen of milk with a tip attached to it, "I got it Zane!"

"Good, now give it Kitty." Both of them widen their eyes in response to my command.

"WHAT?!"

"Z-Zane, are you sure about this?" Kitty asked in concern.

"Absolutely." I quickly answered, face getting hotter. N-no, not like that. Okay, maybe... I couldn't tell with the effects of the pepper, "It looks like you'll need it more than I do."

"But, I'll be okay." She insisted.

I managed to let out a small laugh, "No, you won't. I can tell you're in much more pain than I am. Or is your face red for other reasons?"

She gave wide-eyes in response, "It's the pepper! Not because I-" Kitty was cut off when Sky forcibly chugged it down her throat before she could protest any further, "Ugh."

"Sorry." My cousin apologized.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Zane's tough," Sky assured her, "He can make it through... I hope."

I pumped a fist in the air, "I can make it through! I... can... make... it..." I grew more tired and blacked out eventually. Last thing I heard was my name being called out.

"ZANE!"

I woke up when I felt milk being chugged my throat. As a result, I lifted my head up in surprise, "Don't take my wallet you... " I stood for a few seconds until I asked, "So, what happened?"

Emma answered, "You passed out from heat exhaustion... from a pepper. Until I revived you with milk."

"Oh. Let's get going shall we?"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: Remind me never to eat those kind of peppers ever again.**

 **Sky: Noted.**

* * *

Sky read the next travel tip, "It's an _All-In: Burro_ - _d Alive. Teams must take burros from the enclosure and ride them two miles south to the Mayan temple where the chill zone is located."_

"Let's get going." I said. We all started running to the enclosure.

"We're so good when there's no boys around to mess things up!" Emma remarked, making me return a glare.

"Hey!"

She sheepishly smiled, "Oh, right. Sorry, I meant with us together." She replaced it with a enthusiastic smile and pumped a fist in the air, "Emma and Noah for the win!"

Kitty gave an unamused look, "Yeah, my name's Kitty."

"And you forgot about us." Sky added with her own.

Emma facepalmed in embarrassment, "Ah, I knew that."

"Sure you did..." I remarked while rolling my eyes as we reached the enclosure.

Not much really happened when we were on our way to the finish; while all of us were riding to the chill zone, Kitty and I were talking about Mexico.

"...Mexico is nice, but they could really use some lemonade stands." She finished holding her collar. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Bye, bye, losers!" Josee taunted as she and Jacques passed by us. The four of us presented wide-eyes at the turn of events.

"How did they..." Sky started, but was stopped by Emma.

"Nevermind, that. Move it guys!" We were able to have our burros pick up the pace. But that wasn't the only thing we picked up; all of us got our own sombreros. Even better, we managed to catch up to the Cadets and pass by the Ice Dancers who were standing next to the chill zone.

"Acrobats, you're in 2nd place. Sisters, 3rd." Don announced when we got to the chill zone.

"Alright!/Olé!" Emma and I cheered in happiness.

"WHAT?!" Josee screamed in disbelief, then glared at us "How did you four catch up?!"

I started to explain to her with a smug smile, "Well, friendship is like radar. Also, my old friend Pablo directed us down a shortcut to the chill zone. ¡Gracias, Pablo!" I called to him from the other side of the bridge.

"¡De nada, Zane!" He called back, waving back to me.

"It pays to have good friends." Josee growled in response to my sentence, while Jacques tried to comfort her with a glare of his own.

When their penalty was up, the Ice Dancers ran across the chill zone with smiles plastered on their faces toward the cameras, "Ice Dancers, 4th place!" Don said to them. I could've sworn I saw one of Josee's eye twitch in annoyance when she and her partner finished.

After the Daters/Haters and Best Friends tied for 5th, the Surfers arrived just before the Goths... and they didn't look too good, "We almost got beaten by burritos," Geoff said, after throwing up in his hat, "Who could've known?"

MacArthur chuckled, "I did."

"No, you didn't! It was me!" Sanders protested.

The Goths (and their pet rabbit, Loki) arrived at the chill zone, "Crimson, Ennui, rabbit, you're last to arrive. I'd thought I'd be saying this on Day 1 so here it is... you've been eliminated." They only blinked slowly in response, "I wish luck in whatever circus or cult you end up in. Go away."

The Goths only exchanged eye contact with each other, before they left. The Ice Dancers (for some reason) high-fived each other and smiled in victory as Crimson and Ennui left. Loki glared at them and made cutting noise sound while pretending to cut off a neck; Jacq and Josee gasped in worry. Sky even walked up to them with a glare of her own and cleared her throat to get their attention. Both turned to her, and she gave them the 'I'll be watching you' sign.

From that point on, it was clear to both of us that the Ice Dancers were playing dirty in order to get first place. And something told me they were just getting started...


	21. Ca-Noodling

**Welp, it's that time again. No, not the time to make cheese sandwiches or put cucumbers in our ears.**

 **It's time to spin the Wheel of Morality!**

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 **Ha. Just kidding. I'm bringing up another chapter of this story and an update on the polls. Here are the results:**

 **TDI: 6**

 **TDA: 5**

 **TDWT: 4**

 **TDAS: 1**

 **Looks like Total Drama Island's got a leg up against Action, but it's still any season's game. Tell your friends and writers of this poll on where I should start the prequel.**

 **And as an added note I'm going to start updating every two weeks from now until the end. I know what you're thinking: 'King Goody Two-Shoes, why you so lazy?!', 'He's losing interest in his story!'. That's not really the case though. Like I said before, I've started school already and I'm trying focus on that and on the weekends write new chapters and update the story.**

 **It takes some pressure off and gives me some breathing room to jumble this and focus on finishing my high school career at the same time. Don't worry, we're near the end of the Ridonculous Race, and I'm sure you're pumped up for the prequel as well.**

 **In the meantime, here's a new chapter to ease off some of the tension.**

* * *

You know how in Total Drama players form alliances with each other until they near or at the finals? Well, it's been like that for a while with the Sisters when we re-formed our alliance again and so far we were doing good. Ya know, like getting in the top 3 placement, beating the Ice Dancers, having a good streak with us, beating the Ice Dancers, being great friends plus cooperating with each other, beating the Ice Dancers, beating the Ice Dancers, beating the Ice Dancers.

Oh, and did I mention we were beating the Ice Dancers right now?

Yup, our alliance seemed unbreakable, perfect way to get us to the finals. Well, at least that's what I thought until more people came in. Then it probably would've gone for better.

Or for worse.

But as for right now, the Cadets, Sisters, we, the Acrobats, were taunting at the fourth place Ice Dancers, who only glared back us; Josee twitching her eye in annoyance. Okay, MacArthur and I were the only ones taunting/dancing stupidly at them. Everyone giggled and laughed at the scene, especially Kitty toward me as I was acting childish.

What can I say? I'm silly.

* * *

 **(Combined Confessional: Outside the Temple)**

 **Emma: Nice change of pace. We made the top 3 and we're doing good so far.**

 **Sky: And not only that, but we're getting great entertainment *gestures to Zane and Kitty in the background*.**

 **Zane: *Doing the Moonwalk and Singing as Kitty laughs at the scene* HEY-O! HEY-O! HEY-O! HEY-O! *Stops dancing and forms a cocky smile to the camera* IN YO FACE ICE DANCERS!**

 **Kitty: *Laughing herself really hard and gasps for air* Okay, okay. Th-that's good e-enough Z-Zane.**

 **Zane: *Smiles* You sure? I could go for another round.**

 **Emma: *Turns back to the camera* Another round and he might destroy Kitty's lungs.**

* * *

Kitty and I walked back to Emma and Sky near the Don Box, "Okay, that was nice change of pace. Let's get started now." I said, cracking my fingers.

Sky and Emma took the next tips, _"Travel to Can Tho, Vietnam where the fish are plentiful and pungent."_

"To the airport!" I pointed to the sky. No, not my cousin, the thing above us that keeps us alive and breathing.

But anyway, we took a taxi to the airport and I thought it was safe. Well, ok. It depends on the definition of safe because with all the other six teams, on board it's a little uncomfortable with the fact that Josee was trying to burn me with her glare to me all the way there. When we landed, the Ice Dancers took off faster than us.

Well actually, Ms. Pink and Prance-a-lot decided to trip me when I got up. I (and unknowingly Kitty) sent her an angry look as she blew a raspberry at me. It's like they're trying to provoke the teams.

The time we got the taxi stops, the other teams took off in cabs leaving us ragged.

"Ugh, no more cabs." Emma complained.

"Oh perfect. We went from the top to bottom 3 just get left in the dust." I agreed, crossing my arms.

"Check these out." Geoff pointed to crossover bikes with chariot seats with two kids ready. **(A/N: I don't know what they really are by the way.)** "Wicked!" Him and Brody ran one of them.

"Only one left for all of us." Sky said when we arrived to the vehicle.

"Well, when in Vietnam..." Kitty replied while taking a selfie.

"No way, this kid fast enough." Emma denied, sending a glare. "Zane, you get up here and pedal."

I sent wide eyes to her, "WHAT?! Why me?" There's no way planned to pedal all of them the pond! Maybe if it was just Kitty...

Oh perfect, at this rate I'll end up like Emma earlier in the race.

"You're athletic aren't you?" She raised an eyebrow, thinking I was capable to drive them all (even the kid) to our destination.

"Yeah, but I'm not Greg LeMond." I deadpanned to her. "There's no way you're gonna make me pedal all you."

* * *

 **A/N: Wait for it...**

* * *

"I can't believe I'm pedaling everyone to the pond." I grunted, while pushing myself and a ticked off expression to Emma.

"I can't believe you didn't she would make you." Sky remarked, with an eyebrow raised. The other end of the bargain was that if I didn't, Emma would split the alliance up.

Sneaky little ninja, ain't she?

"Why don't you try to motivate him?" I heard Kitty whisper to her sister. Knowing her, she has a complete different definition of 'motivation'.

"Good idea. C'mon Zane!" She tried to motivate me, "Your grandmother could pedal faster than this!" See what'd I tell ya? We come from COMPLETELY different worlds. It's amazing how we're friends and still in alliance right now...

Kitty sent her an expression that said 'really?', while I glared at her saying, "No kidding! My grandmother was an Olympic Biker Champion." True story. I found out she won 4 gold medals from '59-62' Tour de France events. You'd think the endurance bloodline would pass down to me.

Needless to say when we arrived to the pond, it didn't.

"I survived!" I cheered weakly, placing my arms up... then fell down the ground, "Ow." Kitty rushed to aid before Sky could even blink.

"You okay?" She asked, concerned. Have to admit, it's like she my nurse. My loving, caring, beautiful...

That's it. When I'm done today, I'm telling Sky to slap me when she gets the chance.

"Perfect, now that you're here." I groaned. My cousin smirked at me. "I-I was talking about you Sky!" I laughed nervously, trying to fight off a blush on my face.

My cousin only rolled her eyes in response, smile still on her face. "Yeah, sure you were."

Emma ignored us and ran to the Don Box. "Okay. That was further than I thought, but you did great and we beat the Surfer dudes here and-"

"Kitty! Emma! Sky! Zane! Over here!" Geoff called, him and Brody waving to us.

"Hey!" His partner said to over us.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Docks)**

 **Zane: *Glaring at Emma who's sulking in shame* Next time we pedal, I'm gonna make sure you do it, but with ANVILS IN THE SEATS!**

* * *

"It's fine. We'll pull out ahead during the challenge." Emma recovered while taking a tip from the Don Box.

I received another piece of paper, reading it clearly, "Yeah, if we weren't all working together as a 'superteam' to catch six catfish. Which we will."

"Dudes, we get to work together as a superteam!" Brody exclaimed. He gave Emma a friendly hug. I wonder if Noah watching this right now? And if he is, what would he be thinking? Probably about killing Brody in the most painful and brutal way possible? Yeah, that'd probably be it.

I smiled at Geoff as we fistbumped each other, "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, bro." He returned it.

Emma groaned in response, "Ugh, great. Who else is part of super 'superteam'?"

Sky pointed to the Best Friends, already in the boat, "Them."

"Over here teammates!" Carrie called over cheerfully.

Kitty, Sky, and I waved back to them with our own smiles, "Hey, Carrie!" I called to them with equal optimism... until I noticed Devin looking to the other way, "Devin, we're over here."

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" He then fell into the water, leaving Carrie shocked.

Emma only groaned again, "Let's hope the first superteam is really messing up."

I smirked as they were still in the waters trying to getting their first catfish, "Heh, heh. It looks like struggling to even get their _first_ catfish."

"JACQ! Get in here and NOODLE SOME FISH ALREADY!" Josee commanded him while he was in the canoe holding gloves, "For the love of gold, IT'S JUST FISH."

He put on his sparkling gloves and refused, "Never!"

"Hey, Ice Phonies!" I called/taunted to them. They turned their attention to me, "Having a hard time? I would be too if I had a cold and slimy mustached creature... and had catch fish with my fingers."

"Hey!" Jacques stood up offended.

I corrected him, "I wasn't talking to you, I talking to Josee." She glared at me with her teeth clenched and looked as if she was going to tear off a piece of canoe and throw it at me, which she almost did by the way. She used a large rock to throw and I only moved my head slightly to dodge the projectile, before it ricocheted off the Don Box and hit her back.

Don't ya just love this show?

So while the girls were talking to each other in the center and Surfers in the back, I sailed up front with Devin in order to give us a clear view. Turns out the pepper challenge has messed up his vision, so if we by any chance bump into a waterfall that could be straight ahead, I'd rather not fall down and almost die.

"...And so after all that, I realized I finally love Carrie and I'm trying to impress her so I can win her heart. Also, I think she may know my eyes are messed up since the challenge in Mexico, so can you keep it secret?" Devin went over of how he finally loved his best friend after he got over his breakup with Shelly, and whispered the last part to me. The story actually seemed to going along with the flow, and was actually pretty good. Can't imagine what Shelly's doing right now. I have a feeling we'd be seeing her soon.

"Uh... sure thing." I wasn't too sure on the last part, since Carrie, assuming she's smart, knows her friend's already a little blind, "You shouldn't have too much of a problem winning her heart right now. She's gotta notice how awesome you've been acting lately... and caught us a bucket of chum to attract the catfish. You should tell her that and your feelings."

Devin smiled, "Good idea. Hey, Carrie! I found a bucket of chum to attract the fish!" Unknowingly, we bumped into a rock which caused the bucket to slipped out of his hands and land right on top of Carrie's head, which made her frown.

I presented wide-eyes at the scene and scratched my head in response, "Oops... heh... you might wanna tell her your feelings later."

Emma called us over to announce her plan, "Okay, superteam. There's probably some fish, right underneath us. So Kitty, Geoff, and Zane, you cannonball of the stern to scare the fish toward Carrie, Sky, and I at the bow and we'll do the noodling to catch them."

"Did you say..." Geoff began.

"CANNONBALL!" The three of us exclaimed, jumping into the water. We all laughed... until Kitty splashed water into my face. I looked at her while she giggled. I pushed her down into the water and chuckled... until I was pulled down into the pond. Kitty and I resurfaced and glared at each other before we both laughed at each other and our little pond fight.

But anyway, we caught fish and we're making great progress, "Nice! Only two more to go guys!" Emma exclaimed. Kitty and I high-fived each other.

Soon enough, Carrie got the last fish in, "That's six! We're done! I'll grab the judge." She swam... er... walked off to him.

Sky looked around for a bit, "Hey, has anyone seen Devin?"

"OVER HERE! I got one! I got one!" We all turned to see Devin pulling something big underwater in, "Woo-hoo-hoo! Oh boy, do I have one!"

I swam over to him and checked underwater. I widened my eyes as I saw a crocodile, and resurfaced quickly, "Yeah-yeah-yeah, it's a big one. Let'sjusttalkoverhereforasec'kay?" I said in hurry pushing him away from the others.

Devin (along with everyone else who was there) was confused taking the creature with him, "H-hey, where are we going? The stern's that way!"

"Yeah, I know that's why I'm pushing us AWAY from our work." I answered back, making sure we were a safe distance from the competition, "Dude, do you even know what you have in hands right now?"

"Um... a big catfish?" Devin tried.

I imitated a buzzer, "Eh! Try again. And here's a hint: it's a big, green-scaled reptile that _eats_ catfish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A.K.A..." I brought the creature up so he could more clearly, "A crocodile!"

He gasped, "No way! I thought it was a catfish." He thought a crocodile was a catfish? That's just sad.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Since when do crocodiles and catfish ever look the same? Your vision must be more messed up than I realized." Devin's SEVERELY allergic to peppers, like I probably said before. The pepper juice must've melted his eyes.

"Well, that's what I heard from MacArthur and Josee who were passing by me and-"

I narrowed my eyes instantly cut Devin off swiftly and said in a dark voice, "MacArthur and Josee." I looked over to see those two snickering to each other as they went back to their superteam. "That sneaky little ice-witch! And MacArthur, that wannabe hall monitor! I never expected her to..." I stopped and put a finger on my chin and thought about it. Come to think of it, her attitude in the competition says otherwise. "Actually, yeah. I kinda expected this behavior from her."

"So... what do we do now?" Devin asked.

I gave a mischievous grin, "Easy. We're gonna use their own bait against them." 'Cause why be subtle anyway to a pair of new Heathers? Okay a pure blooded Heather and half-blood.

He gasped in shock, thinking I wouldn't go there which I would, "You mean..." I nodded my head in confirmation. "But we shouldn't."

I frowned in response, "Hey, they were the ones who tried to sabotage us first. We're technically just leveling the playing field. Besides, you wouldn't wanna disappoint Carrie by telling her you accidentally threw a crocodile in our stern while it ate all our fish would you?"

He looked down into the water, "Well, no... it just feels so wrong... yet so good at the same time." Devin smiled a devious one as he rubbed his hands together.

"I know right?" I told him, "But only stuff like this for defense and good deeds only. Not like the other villains I've encountered before. You'd start to get a bad reputation quick, and the show turns against ya in the end. Believe me, I've seen with my own eyes it MANY times."

"So how do we get this crocodile to their boat without getting detected anyway?" He questioned.

"Like this." I wiggled my fingers underwater and caught a catfish easily. Thank goodness I had gloves on. I overheard Emma and Carrie saying it felt weird that it was on their arms. "Holy cow! It feels like some old, giant baby trying to suck the life essence out of my entire arm if that's possible!"

* * *

 **Confessional: River**

 **Zane: *Sitting on a rock* Yeah, try not to imagine that...**

 **(Author: Oh, NOW you tell me!)**

* * *

I threw the catfish over to the other superteam's boat and the crocodile gave chase to it.

We both laughed as the crocodile began to make its way to their stern, "Man, that is so rad! Think I should tell Carrie about this?" Devin asked as we swam back.

"Let's not. I mean she might be disappointed if we sabotaged a sabotage... well, she at least might not completely understand." I explained to him.

To be honest, I don't really know Carrie as much as Devin. Only thing we do have in common: we both hate Shelly; at least we're just rivals with her. You'd think we would've bump into each other at some point or there be at least some mention of our names. I'm surprised I didn't have a past with these two.

"But wait, what about the fish I was gonna catch for her?" Devin asked. He then widened his eyes and brought his arm up and screamed. "AAH! It really does feel like some old, giant baby sucking the life essence out of your arm!"

* * *

 **Confessional: River**

 **Zane: *Sitting on the rock again* Again, try not picture that...**

 **(Author: Again... you warned me a bit late.)**

* * *

We arrived back at our stern just as the judge came by and approved our fish count.

"Hey, guys! How's it going?" Devin asked as soon as we arrived, seeing they all had tips for our team.

"Good so far." Sky answered, "Where've you guys been?"

"Well, we thought there was something *Wink* _fishy_ going on. So we turned into *Wink* _investigators_ to find out was going and used *Wink* _razor sharp_ wit to figure out was going on." I couldn't help but chuckle at my puns, "Heh, heh, get it?"

*Cricket Noises*

I frowned at first then glared at Kitty, who had her phone out (which was somehow working), smirking at me... and she was still in the water. And yes, everyone else was laughing. "How is your phone still working?"

"Story magic." Kitty answered.

I gave her a face of bewilderment, "What the...? Did you...? I heard... You..." Hold on a sec, did she just break the fourth wall?! Hm, I guess we were meant to be. I was able to recompose myself and finished, "You know what? Let's just get this part of the race over with and we'll have a talk about this later on."

"Get lost and found... underground...?" Brody read from his tip.

 _"For this All-In, Teams must take taxis to war time tunnels where a Don Box is secretly located underground giving directions to the chill zone. Warning: these tunnels are filled with traps, dead ends, and more than a few spiders."_ Sky finished the rest of the message.

We sailed away to the next challenge cheering, while I taunted to the other superteam. Actually just two people, "So long Josee! And I guess you too MacArthur... your 50-50 in my books."

"AAH! The branded catfish!" Jacques screamed in excitement. " I see it someone come up and-" He was cut short when the fish bit... or sucked his hands at least. "AAH! AAH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" He smacked the fish and threw it into the air... until the crocodile from earlier jumps, eats the fish, and swam away.

"Darn it, Jacq!" Josee glared at him.

"Where did that crocodile even come from?!" MacArthur screamed in anger. I cleared my throat at them, while waving tauntingly.

Josee's eye twitched right before-

"BLACKWOOD!"

Yeah, that. I bet the whole country heard that.

Anyway, we all were taken to the caves (this time by the kids who were supposed to pedaling us), and stop by the caves and looked inside.

"Uh, looks a little creepy." Geoff commented. Did he literally forget he's a Total Drama Veteran like me?

"Compared to the previous season on this show, it's actually pretty normal." I answered.

"Let's just get this over with quick." Kitty said as we all ran inside, only to be met with three different paths.

"Uh-oh." Sky released. Well, isn't this a great?

"Well... good luck everyone." Carrie replied uneasily.

"Whoa, wait. What's our superteam plan?" Brody stopped us before we could do anything or go anywhere.

"What? But we're not-"

Emma cut Devin off, "Uh, now that the fishing challenge is over, we kinda have to-"

"Split up and whoever finds the Don Box makes the signal! Like... Ca-Caw! Ca-Caw!" Geoff finished, hopping toward the center path (and not really getting the point, but actually helped in the end).

"Nice thinkin' bro! Go Superteam!" Brody exclaimed, following him.

"You have to admit that-"

"C'mon!" Emma said, interrupting Sky. She only sighed before we followed her and Kitty down the same tunnel.

And after a scare by a poke on the shoulder, we were walking down a tunnel when a rumbling occurred over us.

"That's gotta be a sign, right?" Kitty questioned us. "That it's still wrong to let those nice Surfer dudes to know we're still a superteam?"

"Those 'nice' surfer dudes wanna win the million as much as we do." Emma argued.

"They seem a little more prone on making friends and having a good time than winning the million." Sky countered.

"She's not wrong ya know." I supported. "I've known Geoff for a while. I'm pretty sure betraying is the LAST thing that comes to his mind." True story. In the previous seasons, he's play pretty fair so far. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what betrayal even means.

"Still, if they don't get that then-" Emma began to walk away, but fell down a trap on the ground. The only thing that kept her from getting impaled from the spikes below was me and my split-second reaction timing as I held her up.

"GUYS! HELP! PULL ME UP!" Emma screamed in terror. I tried to pull her up, but I didn't really have any upper body strength.

 **(Author: *Teasingly* That and her hips are too big. Emma: *Blushes* Hey! I'm sensitive about my weight!)**

"Little help here guys?" I strained trying to pull Emma up before she was finally fully lifted up, and hugged by Brody who somehow appeared out of nowhere with Geoff...

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Emma thanked, not knowing it was him.

"Not problem, dude! Anything for the superteam!" He replied with a smile.

"You're right. Superteam to the end." She looked at the wall behind us. "Did you guys just bust through that wall?" Sky and I turned around to see the wall with the shapes of Surfers. How did they even get through without making any sound?

"Sh-ya! How'd you guess?"

Sky raised an eyebrow at him, "Uh... there's vaguely familiar shapes of you guys busting from the other side of the cave?"

"CA-CAW! CA-CAW!" We widened our eyes, knowing that familiar sound and voice.

"That's Devin!" Sky exclaimed.

Geoff gasped in realization, "The signal. They found the Don Box!"

I smiled along with everyone else, "Alright, let's go!" We ran to the Don Box and met up with the Best Friends and took our tips from the Don Box.

"Bam! It's a map to the Chill Zone. Let's do this Superteam!" Geoff exclaimed. All of us piled out the cave and went straight to the chill zone.

"Sisters, you're today's winners." Don announced. They cheered as we came up to the carpet, "Acrobats: 2nd place." Sky and I high-fived each other. "Best Friends: 3rd, Surfers: 4th." Both teams cheered hugged each other. No, I'm serious even the Surfers hugged each other.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Temple)**

 **Brody: *Smiles* Yeah! We came in top 4!**

 **Geoff: *Smiles also* Yeah we did! This Superteam's gonna make it to the finals.**

 **Brody: But dude, who's gonna go to the finals with us?**

 **Geoff: Doesn't really matter. As long as one of us wins, we get a cut of million. *Turns to the Acrobats, Sisters, and Best Friends* Right guys?**

 **Zane: *Approves* Yeah!**

 **Everyone else: *Looks to each other* Uhh... *Runs away, leaving Zane behind before he realized what happened***

 **Zane: *Death glare* WHAT?! You cheapskates get back here! *Runs after them***

* * *

Not even a few minutes into chasing my friends and crush, I bumped into MacArthur while she was trying to burn a glare into my soul as I fell on the ground.

"Excuse me MacArthur. I'm trying to chase down my-"

"You! YOU!" She cut me off and picked me up by my front collar. Might I say she's scary up close. "You sabotaged my superteam's sabotage!" She looked very livid and ready to tear me apart right then and there...

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...until she calmed down and returned a smile toward me, "You're a good player." MacArthur dropped me and walked back over to the chill zone.

Sanders came over with a sympathetic expression and helped me up, "Uh... sorry about MacArthur. She's-"

"A crazy, competitive cadets with a hair trigger? Yup, we all know her too well." I finished for her.

"...Not how I would've put it, but okay."

While I chasing down my friends again, I overheard the Daters came in last place and now facing elimination.

"It was the competition that broke us up." Stephanie admitted.

"Exactly. If we went someplace if there was no stress, hardship, or challenges, I think we'd be happy." Ryan agreed.

"And together forever!" She hugged her boyfriend. Aw, it's so adorable I think I'm gonna puke.

Just kidding, at least they're not making out. *Stephanie and Ryan start making out before they leave off into the sunset*

Uh... I spoke too soon.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's another chapter for the books. After learning from the review of a fellow reader I have decided to create a poll after this because... I... didn't know you could create polls on this site.**

 **Emma: Mostly because your head's too small.**

 **SHUT UP EMMA! I KNOW WHAT'S BEST!**

 **Ahem, anyway... I'll create the poll on where I should start on the prequel of this story which hopefully shouldn't take very long. Please Read and Review.**


	22. How Deep is Your Love?

**Hey, everyone! Back from being sick, busy from school, and lazy at the same time. Here's an update on the polls.**

 **TDI: 7**

 **TDA: 6**

 **TDWT: 4**

 **TDAS: 1**

 **Still any season's game, mostly Action and Island. Not so much for All Stars but you never know. We're nearing the end of the Ridonculous Race, and things are gonna heat up. What will happen?**

 **Read and enjoy the next chapter.**

 **Oh and thanks for the reviews.**

* * *

And yet another victory for the Superteam alliance. They are now heading towards the next Don Box as we speak. What will happen next?

Find out in the next exciting chapter of the story...

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NAH! WE WOULDN'T DO THAT!

" _S-U-P-E-R. Whatit'sspell? Suuuper! T-E-A-M. What's it spell? Teeeam! Put it together what's it spell? Suuuuperrrrteam!"_ I sang and was doing a victory dance as my cousin took the next tip from the Don Box.

 _"Catch a flight to Siberia."_ Sky read from her tip.

I stopped celebrating and talked normal while stretching, "Siberia, huh? That doesn't sound so bad."

She deadpanned, "It's in Russia, Zane. And it's cold. VERY cold." Clearly she does not know her own cousin very well.

"Yeah, so?" We stood for a few moments in complete silence...

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...she only sighed before walking off to get us a taxi.

"Hey, wait up!" I caught up with her.

"So the Axis of Evil will be targeting us, the Surfers, Best Friends, and Sisters." Sky started as we were being driven to the airport, "Now would be a good time to _actually_ get off their radar and strategize how we can break them apart."

I waved a hand off in confidence, "Pfft. We don't need to get off their radar. We've done pretty good in the race so far. If anything, the Ice Dancers will try to sabotage the Cadets thus breaking the alliance as a whole." I put a finger on my chin in thought. "Actually now that I think about it, I'm not sure they were even an alliance to begin with."

"Yeah... but we still need to get off Ice Dancers' radar." She said just as we stepped out of the taxi and walked into the airport. "Your little... uh... shenanigans overtime have gotten EVERYONE'S attention. The next one even more collateral the last. Plus, you always seem to let them know it was you."

I shrugged my arms. "Oh, c'mon. I'm pretty sure we'll be okay. Besides what could happen in a few short challenges?"

And just right after I said that...

"SO LONG LOSERS!/MOVE IT OR LOSE IT!" Josee taunted us as she and Jacques ran past us with devious smiles on their faces... oh and MacArthur and Sanders managed to stay right behind them the entire time.

Sky and I looked on in disbelief at the scene before I finally broke the silence and pointed to both teams ahead. "Weren't they behind us _after_ we got our tips?"

Just as the rest of the teams arrived we heard a message from the loudspeaker. _"Welcome, uhhhh... aboard everyone."_ Russian pilot speaking: we will now trolling as soon as possible. A.k.a just right now.

"RUN!" We heard Emma scream as she ran past us.

Sky and I shook ourselves out of stupor and sped over to the desk to get our tickets to this flight along with everyone else. 'Cause if we miss this flight, it'll be an 8 hour wait which would be very detrimental to our position in the race.

 _"We are going to be, ummm_ (HURRY!) _... closing the... uhhhh... cabin doors... ehhh_ (GO! GO! GO!) _... any uhhh... second now for the taking off_."

 **(A/N: Did anyone else feel like they were just trolling here on purpose?)**

"CLOSE THE DOORS ALREADY!"

You could practically hear Josee's _beautiful_ voice from afar. And the doors did close.

Right after we got on board.

"Woo-hoo!" Kitty cheered as we past the Ice Dancers and went to the back.

"That was too close!" Carrie agreed. No kidding. I almost broke a leg trying to get here.

"Right on, dudes!" Geoff said.

"'Sup, Ice Dancers!" I taunted her as all of us went to the back of the plane. She growled in annoyance. HAHAHA! Don't cha just love irony?

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Plane Seats)**

 **Josee: *Angry, while crossing her arms* Now we're all on the same flight. And it's all because of that PILOT!**

 **Jacques: *Glances at her while holding his magazine* Why? Just because he... *trolling*** ** _uhhh... spoke-uhhhhhh.._. *gets punched in the face by Josee* GAH!**

 **Zane: *Whose ironically (and on purpose) right behind them, peaks up from above their heads and mockingly speaks* Aw, what's wrong Josee? Are you mad because we... *now trolling*** ** _uhhh... got on th-uhhhhhh... *_ Gets pulled down by Sky* Whoa!**

 **Sky: *semi-glare, crossing her arms* There really is a thing called 'Getting TOO Comfortable'.**

 **Zane: *Crosses his arms and groans begrudgingly***

* * *

After a long flight (and giving the Sisters a heads up), we ran to the Don Box to receive our tips.

Emma gasped. "We have to ice yacht to the Kola Superdeep Borhole-"

"-In our swimsuits." I finished in a not-so-surprising tone. "Anyone really surprised?" Ironically, everyone raised their hand. Wow, that's all I can say. Just wow. Seriously. It's Total Drama people. The new host might be less sadistic, but the challenges are still diabolical. Fortunately, I still have the body temperature adaption advantage. Can't really say the same for everyone else. The good news is, we'll get our clothes back at the next Don Box.

"Taxi!" All of the teams called for their vehicles. We drove to the location to change into our swimsuits.

Sky had her purple one piece, while I wore black swim shorts and long sleeved t-shirt. Once we were ready, I cracked my fingers, "Alright, guys ready to get this show on the roooooo..." I stopped as I found myself staring with mouth wide open at Kitty in her bikini.

She must've caught me though, sent a sly smirk, and posed, "Like what you see Zane?"

I looked on for a moment, until I slapped myself and felt my cheeks heat up... a lot. "No! Yes... maybe... I don't know..." I was not gonna give her my satisfaction... while trying not to hurt her feelings.

"Aw, you hurt my feelings." Kitty faked pouted then giggled while walking to the yacht. She's so innocent yet diabolical at the same time. I'm so gonna get her back for this.

 **(A/N: Suggestive, ain't it?)**

"Zane, you have a little something on both your cheeks." Needless to say, Sky was in on the fun. Yeah, I forgot to mention. She can be a little evil too.

I glared at her, crossing my arms. "Oh, I couldn't tell. I thought I had fever." When we complete this challenge, it's gonna be a LONG night.

"AAH!" We heard a familiar scream come not to far from us. Unsurprisingly, MacArthur's tongue was stuck to a trash can. Hm, gonna have to hold off this awkward moment for a sec.

"Sorry, it's slippery out here." Josee fake apologized. Okay, time to for revenge.

I kicked her to where MacArthur was and now she was stuck in the same position, smiling deviously. "Oops. Lost my footing." As I walked back to the yacht areas, I heard MacArthur laughing and Jacq sped past me to Josee...

...in a speedo. Something I haven't seen since Alejandro. "Dude, word of advice: get something has leggings like my shorts." I called to him as he ran. It's always disturbing to see any guy in a speedo.

Anywho after that disturbing sight, Sky and I took our boat and raced across the ice. My cousin decided to take the wheel much to my dismay just because I stared at Kitty... once.

We were approaching the hole (with the Sisters who were seemingly waiting for us), but we were coming in a little hot. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Brakes! BRAKES! **BRAKES!** " I screamed at Sky. She pulled hard on the brake lever, still the yacht kept going. As a last resort, she did a 180 which almost left me plummeting into the borhole. I caught myself with one hand with some ice falling down toward the center. Judging from up here, that's even worse than the 1,000 foot cliff dive from the first season.

Getting back on track, I managed to pull myself up and get out of the boat with Sky just as it fell down into the darkness. All of us glanced down the hole with wide-eyes (Although Kitty looked like she was gonna have a heart attack). I can't even imagine how painful or fast death would be for anyone who fell down there.

Ugh, gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

Sky broke the moment of silence. "Uh... that happened..."

"Yeah..." Emma said.

After a few moments, all of us got back into our regular clothing and in winter attire; basically winter gloves, hat, and cover up from the Narwhal challenge and took the next tip from the Don Box.

 _"Who's Ready To Go Deep?"_ Kitty read and the three girls suddenly had wide-eyes. "Uh-oh."

"What does uh-oh mean exactly?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Uh-oh means one of us is gonna have to lower our partner down the hole using a harness to retrieve a ball." My cousin translated from reading the next part of the challenge. "Then pull their partner back up and race to the chill zone."

Once again and somehow, Kitty and I were somehow the ones going to be lowered down. I'm starting to find this pairing a little fixed.

 **(A/N: It** ** _is_** **fixed.)**

"So, how far down are we going exactly?" I'd like to know if I can even climb back up without the harness.

"Uh..." Sky looked to her tip. "Seven miles." Wow, I was right. It's almost like the cliff diving challenge from the first season... except there's so water to land on... and no safe zone... plus a higher chance of death without the harness... and possibly a tight space.

"Seven miles down? Okay..." Kitty looked very uneasy. "Will there still be air?"

"Well, we are above a giant hole with air circulating as we speak. It's kinda hard _not_ for air to travel down there." I tried to reassure her. Hey, I'm no scientist, but pretty sure there would be oxygen there anyway.

Kitty deadpanned, "That's... not reassuring."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, I'm no geologist."

Amazingly (and somehow), the Ice Dancers managed to catch up with us. They started blowing kisses out to their imaginary fans, who even they seem might wanna boo them. Though I was wondering right then, how did Josee even get off the trash can? Did she somehow rip her tongue without feeling pain? Because I'm sure liquid water is not within the 100 mile radius.

"What the...? How did you even-"

"Ugh, enough with that move already!" Kitty cut off my question with a complaint as we were both getting lowered down by our partners.

"Yeah, we get it. You're Ice Dancers." Emma agreed.

"And no one really cares!" Sky called to them. It's nice to see my friends are in the same boat as I am.

"Plus it still won't change the fact that you still flunked at the Olympics, 2nd place losers!" I taunted, then laughed along with my friends. The Ice Dancers gasped in shock then glared daggers at me. Hey, what can I say? There is such thing as 'All Show, and No Go'.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Josee: *Devious Glare* I'm going to make sure neither of them come out of that hole. *Smiles at the thought of it***

 **Jacques: *Smiles* Good.**

* * *

"Okay, we can do this..." Kitty calmy said, seemingly to herself.

Sky gave a sly smirk as if she's gonna say something dirty. "Oh and don't get bright ideas of _bonding too much_ down there."

Kitty and I blushed brightly at the thought. "WE AREN'T!" Both of us were lowered down into the borhole.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Outside the Borhole)**

 **Kitty: *Still blushing while scratching her head* Your cousin is so evil.**

 **Zane: *Stubborn Glare* Yes. Yes, she is.**

* * *

"PULL ME UP!" Our eyes went above us and saw Josee being positioned back up again. She was lowered down by only for a few seconds. "BACK UP. BACK UUUUPPP!" Kitty and I shared uncertain looks with each other that seemingly said 'Uh... is she even a threat anymore?'. I only shrugged in response, before we heard her yell once again. "PULL ME BACK UP! **BACK UUUUPPP!** " Man, that's just sad. She has claustrophobia worst than Gwen.

And even _she_ can handle tight spaces better than that.

I only shook my head in response while I crossed my arms. "I almost feel sorry her. _Almost._ "

"BACK UP AGAIN! **BACK UUUUPPP!** "

An unamused look crossed my face. "...Okay, _now_ I feel sorry her." I'd never thought this moment would come. Uh... me feeling sorry to Josee, not the other thing.

Eventually, we reached the bottom of the hole. And yes, there was air down here... and surprisingly, it wasn't half bad.

"Oh, Emma, it's nice and warm down here." Kitty replied, smiling.

I had to agree with her. "No kidding. If you ignore the feeling constantly being watched, it's great. I'd want to stay down here for a vacation spot."

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "You mean you'd want to stay in a dark cave for a couple weeks by yourself?" HA! As if.

I returned a sly smirk and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Who said I planned on staying down here myself?"

She giggled and got out of my grip. "Uh... no thanks. I'd rather be on the beach in my bikini right now just so could stare at my beauty." She even did her pose again. Aw man, now she's using my weakness against her. Like I said, I'm SO getting her back at this.

I glared back and pointed at her. "I only looked one time! Doesn't mean I'm gonna do it again." Please insert the part where Zane crosses his arms in a very stubborn and childish manner.

 _"Hey if you two are done flirting with each other down there, Emma and I are freezing up here!"_ Sky said through our comms.

I sent a semi-glare back up. "Okay, okay. Give us a moment." And soon enough, we found two balls next to each other. "There they are." We grabbed both of them. Actually, I got another one just in case something might happen. I.E. Ice Dancers. "C'mon. Let's get back to the surface. Sky we're done down here."

"Emma, pull me up." We started ascending up towards the surface... with Josee being lowered down from us.

"Hey, are the balls in plain sight or are they hard to see?" She asked.

"With helmet lights, they're actually pretty easy to- AAH!" Kitty was interrupted when Josee punched her light out.

She tried to go for mine, but I stopped her fist in time. Josee turned a surprised look in response. "Nice try, Josee." I then gave a mischievous grin. "But you're just too wound up!" I used my strength to spin her around and around very fast. It was almost like she was screaming murder.

Mostly because she was...' til she stopped. "Uh, did I win a gold medal?"

"Sky, quick! Pull me up before Josee comes to her senses! Get Emma to do the same thing for Kitty too!" I communicated to her through my mic.

"Wait, but what my ball?" Kitty questioned.

"Don't worry." I threw her the spare I placed in my pocket, which she caught. "I kept another just in case something like this would happen. I know. You don't need to thank me."

We hung in awkward silence... until Kitty cleared her throat. "Um, right. Uh, thanks anyway. Pull me up Emma!" She started going up.

"Time to ascend, Sky!" I started moving up too. A short time later, both of us reached the surface and with our partners ran to the chill zone, which was in a Russian Steambath.

"Sisters, you're today's winners." Don announced, while in a towel. I won't even ask. Either way, we finished in the top 2. They cheered and sat down on the other side. "Acrobats, 2nd place."

"Hooray!" Sky and I cheered.

"Hooray denied." Wait a second, you can't just deny hoorays! Not only is it against nature, it also creates anger. "Both of you get a 15 minute penalty. Please step aside."

"Wha...? What did we do wrong?" Sky asked, shrugging in confusion.

"The challenge was to retrieve _one_ ball from the bottom of the borhole. Zane got two of them." Don explained. Okay, so apparently you _can_ deny hoorays like that.

I facepalmed and groaned at myself for breaking the rules. "Aw, man!"

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Glare* Why didn't I give away a fake ball instead?**

 **Sky: *Raises an eyebrow* Why'd you take a second ball anyway?**

 **Zane: *Crosses arms and sighs* Ice Dancers, remember?**

 **Sky: *Understanding Sigh***

* * *

Speaking of which, they just so happen to hop right in that moment. "Ice Dancers, 2nd place."

"Yes!" They both cheered.

"In your face, Acro-dummies!" Josee smiled tauntingly and blew a raspberry at us while we glared at her. I'm pretty sure both of us were wishing something bad would to happen her to right now.

"I wouldn't be gloating if I were you. Both of you get a _30_ minute penalty." HA! Irony again! And they get _double_ our time... plus they kinda got cursed by my thoughts.

"WHAT?!" They both screamed in disbelief.

"You didn't go to the bottom of the borhole to get the ball as the tip instructed." Don explained to them.

"HA!" I pointed at them as if saying, 'In your face!'.

"Seriously? That is _so_ unfair!" Josee complained. Oh wow, that's rich coming from you Ice Cheater. So far you've tried to sabotage the Cadets by tripping one of them up back in Transylvania, another attempt to them AND Surfers back in the bunny catching challenge, play mind tricks on the TV Pros (kinda miss them right now) plus the Surfers, from what I've heard, push the Cadets off their boat in the prison break challenge, took the Goths' bunny to send them on a wild goose (in that case bunny) chase, yet ANOTHER sabotage attempt for a crocodile trying to eat our catfish, oh and you almost punched my lights out and throw me and Kitty's balls back down the hole.

Did I miss anything? If so, just say it in the reviews.

 **(A/N: Yet another fourth wall comment)**

"Oh really? And punching someone's lights out isn't?" I countered, still they ignored me.

"Considering you're horrible people who's gotten more penalties than all the other teams combined, I'd say you're getting off quite easily." Heh, heh. Tell 'em Don.

They walked begrudgingly to their seats, which were right next to us. The most awkward part of all this was... actually, it was pretty ironic. I mean you don't expect two teams who are enemies to be in the same boat.

And a little while later, the Surfers raced inside. "Surfers, 2nd place, and might I say you guys haven't done anything wrong." Don emphasized, mostly insulting and looking toward us. "OW!" Josee threw a ball at his forehead, whilst sending a glare at him. He rubbed said part and sent an angry look back at her. "And aren't being spoiled brats about it."

She only growled in response which made Jacques move away from her slightly. I only commented. "Yeesh. Someone's angry they aren't out of the penalty box yet."

Josee turned her gaze toward me with an irate expression. "Well... neither are you!"

*BEEP*

"Acrobats, your penalty is up." Wow, that was timely Don. Sky and I smiled and hopped over to the chill zone. "3rd place... and now you can hooray."

"Hooray!" We cheered for real this time.

Soon enough the Best Friends came up. "Best Friends, 4th place." Devin and Carrie cheered. The Ice Dancers' penalty was up and they walked up. "Ice Dancers, 5th place." Both of them walked past us with angry looks with Josee giving me the 'I'm Watching You' sign. I only waved back in response, while Sky returned a disapproving expression with a shake of her head. I gave back a sheepish shrug to her. Not like I can keep players safe plus stay off the radar at the same time.

Don flinched as he got a message through his mic. Turns out MacArthur let the competition go to her head and dropped Sanders without even using the lever to control her fall. In the end, she was taken away and sent to the hospital to tend for her broken arm.

And might I just say... ouch.

Both of them soon arrived to the chill zone (with Sanders' right arm patched up). "Sanders, MacArthur, I'm sorry to say this but you're the last team to arrive..." His solemn look turned into a smile. "But this is a non-elimination round."

"Yes!" MacArthur hugged Sanders, accidentally hurting her arm in the process.

"OW!"

"Sorry." She put her hands up as her partner glared at her.

Don started to talk to them. "Sanders, we spoke with the doctors and they will allow you to continue in the race if you feel you're able to. The choice is yours, but you have to make it now."

Sanders hesitated for a moment before asking MacArthur with a slight glare. "Have you learned your lesson?" She only sent a sheepish smile and shrugged. "I'm probably gonna regret this, but Don, we're still in the race!"

And so the Axis of Evil (or whatever was left of it) was now confirmed to be forever split of any and all relations (if there were any). Still, the Cadets were still somewhat of a threat unless they were to play the game more fairly from now on. Worse off, the Ice Dancers were still a giant problem and would probably try again with their sabotaging the 'Superteam' alliance plan.

The only question is... can they keep this up and eventually break us?

Only time can tell.

* * *

 **And that's another chapter done and we're nearing the end of the competition. Polls will still be up for grabs until the end of story.**

 **Closing time for the polls will either immediately after the finale or a week after and that'll be it. So be sure to tell other writers of this poll of where I can start the 'Karmic Trickster' prequel.**

 **Until then, read and review please.**


	23. Darjeel With It

Okay, we're still down to the final six teams. Pressure is now higher than ever (with a couple teams who I won't mention demonstrating this), and the alliance seems... like it's getting dull, but it should hold out until we get to the final four. That is, if the entire superteam makes it there. Oh, and as long as the Ice Dancers stop glaring holes into The Acrobats a.k.a our souls.

Which ironically... was... what... they were... doing... right now. Hmm, I guess I did push them over the edge a little...

"Do you think they'll stop glaring at us anytime soon?" I asked my ever-so-loyal cousin. We both look back toward them, but Jacq and Josee still kept up their angry gazes. "I mean they have to, right?" Even Courtney couldn't hold a grudge this long.

Then again... she threw challenges back in World Tour to get rid of Gwen when she got with Duncan. Not her finest hour.

"I don't think so." She answered back quietly.

We took the next travel tip after the Surfers. "We're going to Darjeeling, India."

Both of us, with the Sisters, were trailing behind the Cadets... who yet again, somehow managed to pull ahead of us.

"WOO! India!" Kitty cheered as all of us waited for a taxi to arrive.

"Taxi!"

" **TAXI!** " Emma, who once again was trailing behind us, beat MacArthur to the punch by coming out of nowhere and launching herself on top of the hood of the taxi. "We call this one!"

"Ooookaaayy..." Kitty nervously smiled, while MacArthur glared at Emma. I'm now starting to prefer Noah and Owen back right now.

* * *

 **(Combined Confessional: Inside the Taxi)**

 **Zane, Sky, and Kitty: *Have visible expressions at Emma clearly saying, 'Are you serious?'***

 **Emma: What? We're down to the final six. Every second counts.**

* * *

She was right, but mostly wrong. Why? Because _all_ the teams were put on the same flight... again.

Right now, I was walking over to Devin, who just so happened to be in a confessional.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Plane)**

 **Zane: So are you gonna confess your feelings to Carrie or what?**

 **Devin: I'm... gonna do it. This leg of the race, I'm gonna tell her I love her. *Nervously* I just hope she doesn't kick me in the kiwis.**

 **Zane:** **Yeah... *Realizes what he just said* Wait, what?**

* * *

"Carrie," Devin started. He's going for it. He's going for it! He's gonna score it, folks! "I love yoooooou-tensils!" I facepalmed at the failed attempt. He had it in plain sight, then he lost it. He was VERY close.

"Um... cool." She answered, looking at him strangely. "I"ll... be right back." Carrie walked off somewhere.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Plane)**

 **Zane: *Slight glare*** ** _Yoooooou_** **-tensils? Really?**

 **Devin: It's hard ok? *Crosses arms* Besides it's not like you confessed your feelings to Kitty.**

 **Zane: *Wide-eyes* Wait... you know about- *MacArthur's crying interrupts him, causing both to look over***

* * *

The rest of the flight to Darjeel was quiet, if you were able to ignore MacArthur's brief crying. Took taxis to the next Don Box. Soon as all of us got here though...

"Still first! Heh, heh, heh..."

"OH!" The Ice Dancers dropped to the ground from exhaustion.

"Heat, too hot." Jacques groaned.

"Ugh, this humidity's bad for my hair." Emma complained.

"Tell me about it." Kitty agreed, with her ponytails now puffed up. Eek. That's not good.

"Whoo! So hot and sweaty, I could cook rice in my armpits." MacArthur agreed. Oh great, now I have to live with that image for the rest of my life. She sniffed them. "Whoo! That's pungent."

"Too much information." Sanders commented. Yeah, WAY too much info.

"Too hot... for... hat." Geoff struggled to walk to the Don Box with Brody while taking his hat off.

"Can't... take... this... heat." Sky trudged behind them.

"Wimps." I shook my head, walking casually and faster than everyone else to the Don Box. Remember, I still have body temperature adaption folks. I'm able to work in nearly any weather condition.

"Dude, how come you're not bummed out like us?" Brody strained.

"Body Temperature Adaption." Sky answered for him.

"Thank you, Sky." I thanked her. I pressed the button on the Don Box and received the next tip. _"Tea Time."_

"Is it iced tea?" Josee asked, still on the ground with her partner.

I returned a deadpan expression. "No... _'Each racer must strap on a basket and fill it up with the tea leaves in the field. Once full, bring it the local. If approved, you'll receive your next tip."_ Everyone groaned in response.

A little while later, everyone was strapped into their baskets and were collecting leaves. Sky was struggling to get leaves in her basket, while I was nearly done with filling mine. She sighed in exhaustion and wiped sweat off her forehead.

"Faster, Sky. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you get out of this heat." I tried to encourage her. Sure she's an athlete, but even professional athletes need breaks once in a while.

"Don't you mean 'the sooner _we_ get out of this heat'?" If she could, Sky would look at me strangely.

"Uh, body temperature adaption. Remember?"

"Oh, right." She sulked down in despair. "Wish I had that too."

"Oh, Acrobaaaats!" We turned our heads to see the Wicked Witch of the West's sister and her pet spider monkey. Just so we're clear the actual Wicked Witch of the West is Heather, not Josee.

"Just when this challenge couldn't get any worse." Sky muttered to me. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Both of you are the best team this show has to offer because of your recent top placements." Ah, buttering up Jacq. It just screams betrayal slash double cross.

"We've also overheard the Sisters talking behind your backs of how completely oblivious the both of you, think you're losers, and are considering of breaking the alliance with you. So we're here to give you an opportunity to create an alliance with us." Josee finished.

Sky and I looked toward each other for a moment...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.  
"A-hahaha-heh-hahaha!" We both sighed and wiped our own tears from laughing. Josee frowned at both of us as if we should believe them.

"Oh wait, you're serious?" I questioned. They both nodded in head in response. I elbowed my cousin and both of us smiled. "Let's laugh even harder."

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" We both cracked up as the Ice Dancers glared.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Fields)**

 **Zane: *Still smiling* What, do they honestly take us for idiots? I know jars of mayo that's smarter than these two.**

 **Sky: *Giggling***

* * *

"Do you think we're idiots? The Sisters would never betray us." My cousin argued.

"She's right." I nodded my head in agreement with a stern look on face and tone in my voice. "We've been in an alliance with them ever since Owen and Noah left the competition, and we've been good friends ever since. So let me ya something." I glared at them with hostility and walked aggressively as they back away in fear. "You WILL stop these mishaps against my friends and play fairly, or both of will face FULL EXTENT OF MY LATH!"

The Ice Dancers both stared at me strangely. "Uhh... what?"

I placed a finger on my chin. "Oh, sorry. Did I say _lath_? I meant _wrath._ You'll face the full extent of my _wrath_. I always get those two mixed up for some reason..." I muttered that last part to myself. "But as said before, don't even think of trying to empty out our baskets behind our backs." I pointed a finger to them with a death glare. "Like we said, we're not stupid and we're not pushovers! So stay out of my, Sky, and my friends' way, or else I'll introduce both to a NEW WORLD OF PAIN!"

Both of them had wide-eyes, but they got the message and stormed away with angry looks evident on their faces. I was serious about what I said too, and I rarely get serious. I don't hold back ANYTHING when I'm ticked off. Last guy who got me irate wished they'd never been born.

And I'm not talking about the 'I surrender!' kind of wished you'd never been born. I'm talking about the 'I wish this world never existed' kind of trauma.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: You think they got the message of never messing with us?**

 **Zane: Probably. But that shouldn't stop us from letting our guard down.**

* * *

 **Josee: *Evil Chuckle* They don't realize they just confirmed what we needed to know. All we have to do is use their own strength against them.**

 **Jacques: *Smiling* You are so evil.**

 **Josee: Yes. I know.**

* * *

We walked over to the Sisters who were busy picking leaves at the moment.

"Hey, girls." They both turned their heads to me. "Just wanna give you a heads up, keep an eye on the Ice Dancers."

"Yeah, we know what they're doing." Emma brushed it off as it was nothing and went back to leaf picking.

I frowned back. "I'm being serious. I have a feeling they're gonna try something crazy to either get rid of us or break up the entire alliance."

"The last thing we need is someone going home in a body-cast." Sky added.

"The challenges aren't _that_ diabolical." Kitty argued with a sympathetic expression.

"But the Ice Dancers are. Remember they've been trying to sabotage teams throughout this race just to get the 'gold'." I quoted the last word. "Jacq and Josee will do anything to make sure they get to every chill zone first; especially the last one in the finale, and leave EVERYONE behind if they can. Mainly us."

Emma and Kitty turned to each other with surprised looks. "You really think they'll do that?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did." I returned an unsurprised face to them. "Remember, I've been stopping their sabotages throughout the race, they know how skilled and friendly we are toward one another... plus I also told them off back there, and we're sure they won't take too kindly to that. The Ice Dancers WILL do anything to break us."

Emma had a determined face, while Kitty looked a little worried. I cracked my fingers and smiled. "Don't worry; we'll be ready for them." Part of me was confident saying that, the rest of me wasn't too sure. I've dealt with some crazy players back in the last series. I just hope my and Sky's experience is enough to keep us and the Sisters in the race at the same time.

I just wish I had the time and bravery to tell Kitty my feelings towards her. Maybe that's what been bothering me these last few challenges. I really couldn't stop thinking of her and Emma's safety during the race.

 **(A/N: Daw, isn't dat lovely? Zane: *Annoyed* Seriously? When are you gonna stop with these random notes?)**

After a little longer of picking up leaves, the four of us were able to fill up our baskets with leaves. We took to the local and received our next travel tips.

 _"Get sent reeling on the Darjeeling: teams will go to the Darjeel Station and take a passenger car based on the order you arrive. As the train moves the chill zone station, fight your way to front train car to exit."_ Sky read from the travel tip.

"C'mon let's go!" Emma commanded us.

The order of the passengers car were: Ice Dancers, Best Friends, Cadets, Surfers, Sisters, and us, the Acrobats. Yeah, it seems like we're at a disadvantage, but hey we'll catch up to everyone else quickly.

 _"Hello, racers in cars 2-6. You are free to begin making your way to cabin one... NOW."_

"Go, go, go!" We started to run to the next car. Sky and I stopped when we saw a kangaroo sign up top.

"Pfft. A kangaroo? That's it? This'll be a cakewalk." I waved it off is it were nothing.

"I... don't know, Zane. Kangaroos are tougher than you think." Sky replied, visibly nervous.

"Oh, c'mon. How tough could one kangaroo be against two athletes like us?" I still had a confident smirk on my face. "We'll take it on 3." We got in a pouncing position. "1... 2... 3!" Both of jumped in after it.

The plan to obliterate the kangaroo...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...didn't go as well as I hoped...

"AAH! OOH! OUCH! OW! AAH! MY LEG!" Both of us were tossed out... by the kangaroo with bruises and scratches evident across us.

"Man, kangaroo fighting's hard." Sky groaned in pain.

"Not as hard as a boxing glove to the face." I strained with a finger raised. I returned a glare back to the kangaroo inside. "That's it! This time, THE GLOVES ARE OFF!" I took my gloves and pushed to them to Sky behind me, who held them. I lunged myself back inside the train car and started to pound the living daylights out of the animal.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Outside the Car)**

 **Sky: *Cringes as punching and kicking sounds are heard inside* Ooh! Ouch! *THWACK* That's gonna leave a mark.**

 ***POW***

 **Sky: ...for the kangaroo...**

* * *

I dusted my hands off in satisfaction as I walked out. "We're good. C'mon let's get to the next car." I gestured for her follow, so she did. When we got to the next car, both of us saw the Sisters scratched up.

"Ouch. What happened to you two?" Sky asked, in a concerned manner.

"We were beaten up by chickens." Emma answered.

"Chickens? That's it?" I snapped my fingers, in confidence. "Eh, this'll be easy."

"Zane, those chickens are tougher than you think." Kitty said. "I literally coughed up a feather when we got out."

"Oh, c'mon. I've had to take on a boxing kangaroo. How tough could a train car full of chickens be?" I asked as I walked in there.

* * *

 **In t-minus 3... 2... 1...**

* * *

"AAH! OOH! OUCH!" I was thrown outside where everyone else was by the chickens (somehow) with even more scratches across my face. I even coughed up a feather... and an egg.

In response, I only said one thing.

"I hate chickens."

 **(Author: *Sighs and shakes head* Zane, Zane. When will you learn...?)**

"We got four more cars to get through." Emma complained. "Ugh, we're not gonna make it!"

"Well, we could just distract them with bird seeds." I suggested, struggling to stand up.

"Not unless you want the chickens to kill you." Sky placing a hand on me as if saying, 'Not a good idea.'

"I have an idea." We looked to Kitty as she spoke. "You know how most train windows have those signs that say 'keep your arms in'?

"Yeah...?" Emma said back.

"We're listenin'..." I replied with a smile, knowing where this was going.

"Well, this one doesn't. SO WHATEVER." Kitty answered back with a smile.

Her plan was to get to the front train car by literally jumping on top of the passenger cars and navigating to the next.

"Jumpin' catfish! You're a dangerous gal, Kitty!" I glared at her, then returned a smile. "I like that in you."

"Aw, thanks, Zane!" Kitty blushed happily. We stared at each other's eyes romantically... until Emma snapped us out of our moments.

"If you're done staring at each other, Bonnie and Clyde, we're in danger! We should definitely go back in the car!"

Nuh-uh." I denied her the chance of us going back in there. "I got owned by a car full of chickens... and they threw me out... and I lost all my street cred."

"What street cred?" Sky looked to me with an unamused look.

"Oh, come on! You never take risks!" Kitty was more focused on arguing with her sister.

"Like the time you went tobogganing _blindfolded_?" Emma countered back.

I raised an eyebrow at Kitty and asked. "You went tobogganing blindfolded?" Kitty looked embarrassed and laughed sheepishly.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Kitty: *Annoyed* Ugh, you had bring up the blindfolded tobogganing story in front of him.**

 **Emma: It speaks to the reckless behavior Kitty's done her entire life.**

 **Kitty: I was 10! Come on. Live a little.**

 **Emma: She slammed into a tree and "lived a little" in the hospital for two weeks.**

 **Kitty: *Glares at her***

* * *

"Isn't that a little dangerous?"

Sky crossed her arms and deadpanned. "Not nearly as dangerous as the time _you_ went biking... _blindfolded._ " I widened my eyes instantly after she said that. I thought I told her to keep that a secret!

Kitty this time looked at me strangely. "You went biking blindfolded?"

I nervously smiled. "Heh, well... you see..." I pointed ahead to the front. "I'm just gonna go over to the next train." I didn't really wanna talk about the blindfolded biking story.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Annoyed* You had to bring up the blindfolded biking story in front of her.**

 **Sky: The blindfolded biking story pretty much states for part of Zane's overly confident attitude and recklessness.**

 **Zane: I was 11 and trying to earn street cred when that happened! Gimme a break.**

 **Sky: *Crosses arms* He earned street cred alright... when he fell down an open sewer entrance and stayed in the hospital for a week. The doctors also had to quarantine him because the *plugs her nose* sewer smell was so bad, he wilted the ground when he stood in one place for too long... and he was IN the hospital... and that doesn't even make sense.**

 **Zane: *Growls and crosses arms stubbornly***

* * *

We all jumped to the next train and heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Kitty!"

Below from behind us were Devin, who was holding his... uh... kiwis, and Carrie.

"Hey, neighbor!" Kitty said back. "You okay?"

"Devin took a goat to the crotch." Carrie answered. Ouch! That hurt my cheez-its just thinking about it! "Can we come up?"

"Sure, let's all die." Way to put a positive spin on things Emma. You really do replace the pessimistic role of some people who won't be mentioned. "Come on up."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Kitty: We should hang with Devin and Carrie more often. With the Axis focused on us, we'll need all the help we can get.**

 **Emma: I guess. Aside from us and the Acrobats, they're the only other sane team left.**

* * *

"C'mon, we're almost there!" Sky exclaimed as me and her helped Devin over.

We reached the second car. "We're nearing the front car. We might have to throw you over." I stated. "Unless you think you can make the jump."

"Well, actually-"

I cut of Devin's statement by screaming. "WE'RE THROWING YOU OVER!" At least, I was the one who did.

"AAH!" Whoops. Turns out, I had too much power in my throw and ended having him hit a the ledge of a rooftop square... right on his kiwis.

As everyone looked to me, I sheepishly chuckled and shrugged. "Oops."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Emma: *Unamused* At least Sky's sane.**

* * *

"Yo, dudes!" The Surfers jumped toward the second to last train car we were now on. "How's it going?"

"Well, aside the fact we're all gonna die, pretty good." Ah, Emma. Still lookin' on the downside, eh?

"Man, is she always this pessimistic?" I asked Kitty.

She only returned an annoyed expression. "You have no idea."

*CLANK*

I made a strange face. "Did anyone else hear that?"

"Aha ha ha ha ha!" That was the unmistakable laughter of Jacques. "Okay, bon voyage!" He and Josee walked back into their car.

"Okay, see you too bro!" Brody waved back to him with a smile.

I sent a slight glare to him and gestured below me. "Brody, the Ice Dancers just separated the cars!"

"They did?" I nodded my head annoyingly. "Whoa... isn't that like cheating?" I only facepalmed at his question. If anything, he's slightly smarter than Lindsay.

"What do we do?" Kitty asked in desperation.

"Jump for it!" Sky screamed, she hopped over first. Kitty went after her, followed by Emma, Carrie, Geoff, and Brody. That left me and Devin.

I waved for him to go. "Go on Devin. Jump already! I'll be right behind you!" He audibly gulped, but he was able to fork over the bravery and get to the other side.

And the good news, no nuts were cracked.

"Zane, NOW! Jump for it!" Kitty screamed over to me.

I exhaled softly before I ran over. I grabbed the ledge of the car and felt my myself slipping. "No, no, NO, NO-" I was about to fall, until Kitty caught my mere seconds from my death. I sighed in relief and grinned in satisfaction as she helped me to the top of the car. "Thanks."

"Just returning the favor back at the Tower." She smiled back.

"Uh, you do realize there was a ledge below right?" Emma pointed out. Both of us looked below, and she was right. Can't believe I thought I was gonna die for a second there.

I crossed my eyebrows at our slight ignorance. "Oh, we didn't noticed that. But we were gonna go inside the car anyway, weren't we?" I rubbed my chin, while both of us stood up.

A stampeding bull from below interrupted my thoughts. The Cadets stepped out of the open space. "Heh, you better run." Both gasped at the scene.

"The train! Zane unhooked it!" Sanders cried.

"ZANE, THAT WAS A BIG MISTAKE!" MacArthur screamed at me.

I glared toward them below. "WHAT?! I never-"

She stopped me mid-sentence. "Hey, Acrobats! You're now our WORST ENEMY!"

Sky sighed in frustration and voiced my thoughts. "Great. Now we've got the Cadets AND the Ice Dancers after us!" Carrie only sighed sadly and walked to the front of the train car.

"Yo, man. What's eating her?" Geoff asked his partner. Brody only shrugged to his question.

"Zane, think you could pick the lock?" Emma asked me.

"I'm part athlete. Not thug." I returned a disapproving look to her.

"Well, you could try!" She's persistent. I'll go her that.

"I don't have any tools with me. Even if I was able to, we'd be out of time!" I argued back.

"Guys, what's wrong with Carrie?" Devin interrupted our dispute. "Is she okay?"

"Oh, what do you care?" Emma snarked back as she and her sister glared at him. In the background, Geoff and Brody were awkwardly standing by plus were utterly confused.

"Uh-I... I do care."

"You don't act like you care!" Kitty retorted.

"Okay... I'm in love with her!" Devin spilled the beans, making Kitty and Emma gasp.

Kitty grasped his shirt. "Are you kidding me?!" She started slapping the living daylights out of him. "ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!"

"Well, Zane knew too!" Uh-oh...

"WHAT?!" They and Sky turned their death glares to me. "YOU KNEW?!"

I rose my hands in defense. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's not get hasty here! He told me to keep it secret!" I pointed to Devin to avoid getting my lights punched out. "I did what any good friend would do and kept my end of the bargain!"

"You mean keep a good relationship from happening?!" Emma yelled at me.

"NO! To keep complications from rising! But it looks like I didn't do a good job at that either!" I attacked with my own glare.

"You knew both him and Carrie were love with each other!" Kitty screamed. "You should've told her!"

"Well, I didn't SO THAT'S THAT!" I screamed, shocking everyone in the conversation to silence. Kitty even looked a little hurt. I sighed to calm myself down. "I didn't ask for any of this. I only came here with Sky because our parents felt we needed this race in order to keep us out of trouble. But thanks to me, I'm doing the exact opposite of that. The Ice Dancers want all of us, ESPECIALLY me and Sky, down in the dirt to achieve their dreams for a 'gold medal', the Cadets are now declaring us their worst enemies, and now everyone of you's against me because I kept Devin and Carrie from becoming boyfriend and girlfriend." I slumped down to the ground in sadness. "I'm not a good cousin or a player at all. I'm a failure." All that guilt was starting to come down on me.

And I'll be honest too. I felt like crying.

Kitty placed a hand on my shoulder for comfort. "You're not a failure, Zane. If you weren't here, you and Sky would still be in trouble, and all of us wouldn't be here right now. You did what you could and that's all that matters." She gave me an understanding and comforting smile. I'll have to give to her, she has some charisma.

I smiled back as we stood up, clearly showing I gained back some spirit. "Thanks, Kitty. By the way, we're gonna forget this whole secret thing right?"

*SMACK* "OOF!"

I rubbed the spot where she slapped me; it stung... a lot. "Yeah, I... guess not."

"I almost forgot it. _Almost_." She admitted. Me and my big mouth.

"As for you," Emma started, glaring at Devin as she grasped his shirt, "What Kitty meant back there was-" She told him everything that her sister meant. I really couldn't understand, the train horn was blocking most of the sound. "-with you. YOU TURKEY! Come on, Kitty! Let's try to get that door open!" She and Kitty walked back onto the ledge of the cabin car to try pick the lock.

I walked over to Devin to confront him about his relationship to Carrie. "You really should tell Carrie how you feel about her. Who knows when you two'll get eliminated? Wouldn't you rather have her find out right now while you still have the chance?"

Devin looked at me then he smiled. "You know what? You're right! I'm should tell her." He gained a nervous look. "But what if I flunk out?"

I grinned. "Then Sky will be right there to support you."

She smiled as well. "Yup. That and I'll slap you if you mess up."

All color left Devin's face. "Uh, right." He walked over to the front of the car with Sky behind him.

After a long wait of silence, Geoff spoke up. "Dude, what just happened?"

"I think it was an alliance problem or something like that." Brody guessed.

I walked down to where the Sisters were. "Step aside, gals. I'll try crack this open." I took out a bobby pin and screwdriver.

"Uh, where did you even get that bobby pin and screwdriver?" Kitty asked me.

"I... can't really answer that." I focused on trying to pick the lock. It was too advanced for me. That and I had little experience at picking locks. "Sorry, this lock's too hard for me. We're better off waiting for the-"

"AAH!" Devin fell down from the train and I somehow caught him in time. "Thanks."

I returned an encouraging smirk. "Get up their tiger. You're future wife's waiting for you." He rubbed the back of his head and blushed before climbing up on the rooftop. I turned my gaze to the Sisters. "So like I was saying, we'll have to ride the rest of way up top. Besides, knowing Don, he'd probably give the Ice Dancers a major penalty for separating the cars."

"You're probably right." Emma said. "Besides we're almost at the station."

A short time later, the train stopped at it's destination. Everyone else (except for Carrie and Devin unnoticably), got off from the top of the train and started running to the chill zone.

"Ice Dancers, you're first... if no one makes it in the next hour. You have a penalty." We heard Don's voice from afar.

"Us?! What did we do?" Jacques questioned in bewilderment.

"Seriously? You thought I wouldn't notice the _rest_ of the train is missing?" What did I tell 'em? Don really is a better version and upgrade to Chris; he's not stupid or very sadistic for that matter.

"Oh, whatever. The rest of the teams are miles away and there's no chance of-"

"You were saying crackpot?" I cut Josee off with a taunt and smirk as I ran with Sky to chill zone, while the Sisters were cheering.

"Made it!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Tie for 1st between the Acrobats and Sisters." Don announced. The four of us cheered and hugged each other.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Josee: *Glares with Jacques* UGH! What does Don have against us? Is it because we're too talented? Too attractive? Too all of the above?**

 **Zane: *Off-screen* No, you're too (two) trash-holes!**

 **(Author: Get it?)**

 **Ice Dancers: *Glare back to the camera***

* * *

Geoff and Brody arrived to the chill zone shortly. "Surfers, 3rd place." They high-fived each other. And yet amazingly, the Cadets rode on the bull and arrived. "Cadets, 4th."

MacArthur blew a raspberry at the Ice Dancers. Joseee growled and twitched her eye in annoyance. I only chuckled at the scene. Any day where you anger your enemy is a good day.

I wondered what was taking Devin and Carrie so long. They were on top of the train with us. Both of them should've been to the chill zone ages ago.

"What's taking them so long?" I muttered to myself with an impatient and annoyed face while tapping my foot on the ground.

"Oh, look. The Best Friends are coming. I hate to be you guys." Don replied to the Ice Dancers, who were scowled at him. He was right. I could finally see them over the horizon walking toward us.

And the best part: they were holding hands and smiling!

Sky beamed up. "Finally, you two show up. Quick, step on the mat. The Ice Dancers still have to wait for their penalty."

I got out the purple pom poms. "Yeah, I'm in a party and gloating position to start."

Both of them looked toward each other. "Actually, we're quitting the race."

"WHAT?!" Everyone screamed while I didn't pay attention at all.

"YEAH! We win, you lose! The Ice Dancerrrr-wha...?" I started celebrating and gloating at the Ice Dancers until I realized what Carrie just said. "Did you just say you're quitting?"

"Yup."

I pumped up a fist. "YES!" Then I realized she didn't say 'no'. "Wait, you didn't say no. That's the exact opposite of what we all hoped would happen."

"But why are you quitting?" Kitty asked them.

"We're happy together, and the race was a great experience, but we decided that it's best for us to cut ourselves from the competition before we lose each other... or worse." Devin explained.

"It's great that you care for each other but what's the worst that could-"

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea!" Sky placed a hand over my mouth before I could finish. She turned to me with a glare and whispered harshly. "Don't. Jinx. It." I nodded my head at her command, afraid of what she could do to me.

"Are you completely sure you want to do this?" Don questioned. Devin and Carrie nodded their heads without hesitating. He only sighed in disappointment. I feel you too dude. "Okay. Ice Dancers, you're penalty's up." Jacq and Josee smiled before hopping to the chill zone and blowing kisses to the camera. "5th place. And unfortunately, you're still in the competition."

Meanwhile, Devin and Carrie smiled toward each other before walking away into the sunset while holding their hands. As they happily walked away, I cried in extreme emotional despair.

Sky placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, Zane. They're both happy together and we'll miss them."

I instantly stopped bawling my eyes. "What?" I frowned at her. "I'm upset because the Ice Dancers are still in the race. Why would I cry for Devin and Carrie knowing we've gotten them together?"

Sky returned a strange look toward me. "Uh... no reason..."

* * *

 **Another chapter for the books done and done! I decided to have the Best Friends eliminated here because they deserved a better ending than the mountain accident.  
**

 **Hence why I despise the Ice Dancers... a lot.**

 **The end of the story is nearing and so might be the beginning prequel to the Karmic Trickster fiction saga. Any season is still up for grabs so don't give up any hope.**

 **Please read and review.**


	24. Last Tango in Buenos Aires

**Hey, everyone! King Goody Two-Shoes here to bring you another update from the story. An early update that is. I'd usually bring it up somewhere in the evening or afternoon my time (I'm in the Mountain Time Zone), but I'm at home... sick which stinks a lot since I'll have to catch up on school work when I get back on Monday.**

 **But that's good news for you readers since you get read this chapter a little earlier than expected.**

 **Here's an update on the polls.**

 **TDA: 8**

 **TDI: 7**

 **TDWT: 5**

 **TDAS: 1**

 **Now that I think about it, I probably should've put up Revenge of the Island instead and I just might do that.**

 **And thank you Johnny Pickles for that review on the chapter before this. The reason Zane's powerful and clever in the first place is because he's a "Karmic Trickster" (if you don't know what that is, Google it) like Bugs Bunny, The Warner Brothers and Sister (Animaniacs), and even Wander (though in a more unaware and innocent sense).**

 **I think you might find this chapter more surprising... but still humorous.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

You know what they say: 'another day, another dollar'; or in this case, another day, another win for the Acrobats and Sisters. All this time I thought I had the skills and smarts to keep me, my cousin, and the Sisters safe from the Ice Dancers and Cadets (but let's be honest, we're looking more at the Ice Dancers in this case)as if I was some kinda guardian. Because Jacques and Josee have tried every means to sabotage us this far, and nothing, repeat NOTHING has worked out for them. For example, the tripping back in Transylvania (it was more for the Cadets), alligator trying to eat our catfish, light punch-out, and the turn away from our friends and stab in the back. You'd think this would make you the best and most invincible player(s) in the competition right?

Well... heh, not always. That just makes you look like the bigger guy. I found that out when the Ice Dancers finally struck back at us (mostly me) for ruining their sabotages.

It started when we were the first ones to grab our tips from the Don Box...

"We're going to Argentina." Emma said from reading her tip.

"Autophoto!" Kitty exclaimed with a closed-eye smile, holding up her phone while she grabbed me.

"Uh, Kitty?" I raised an eyebrow and when she heard my voice, turned her head to me with instead with a surprised expression. "Why are we doing an auto-photo?"

"Oh! U-um... I-I thought I took Emma's sh-shoulder and was... planning to take a... selfie with her..." She stammered with a blush, embarrassed smile, and scratch of the back of her head, the last part of her statement growing more quiet.

"Hey, I don't mind if we both take a selfie together. I mean, I was hoping we could do that soon." I shrugged, feeling my face heat up a little. To be honest, I was hoping for a selfie with Kitty when she... you know... gave me... that... gift at Dubai.

We both looked at each other seeing stars in our eyes. For what seemed like a hours, we both started to lean toward each other and nothing could stop us.

 **(Irony: Challenge Accepted)**

Until-

"Zane! Kitty!" Sky's voice broke our moment... and let's be honest, we were about to kiss each other. "C'mon! We gotta get to the airport." She gestured for me and Kitty to get into the taxi.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Outside the Station)**

 **Zane: *Angry* Of course the moment where we almost kiss gets ruined by the pressure of the competition. *Shouts up to the sky* CURSE YOU IRONY!**

 **(Irony: *Troll Smiley*)**

* * *

Fortunately, it was a short and quick ride to the airport... in somewhat awkward silence. We were all able to get to the desk clerk. Not to mention a short while later, a line was formed right behind us much to the Cadets' and Ice Dancers' dismay.

"Ugh, a line! Great!"

"Hurry up! Get us to the sky!"

If I didn't say any better or before, I'd say these guys are desperate to beat us.

I smiled and tauntingly called back to them whilst gesturing to my cousin. "She's right here, but you can't touch her." I laughed at my joke while (the real) Sky rolled her eyes.

"He was waiting a LONG time just to say that joke." Sky said dryly to the camera.

"Oh, don't mind them way in the back. They're just worried they won't get their usual seats at the _very_ back of the plane." Kitty chuckled at the last part of her sentence. The desk clerk gave her thumbs up.

And by 'back of the plane' we're talking the seats right next to the bathroom.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Plane)**

 **Zane: *Grins* You are so vengeful and devious.**

 **Kitty: *Smiling* Yes, yes I am.**

* * *

When we were on the plane, I taunted back to the Cadets and Ice Dancers who were gagging at the smell coming out the bathroom. "Hey Cadets, Ice Dancers, it _stinks_ to be you guys. Ahahahaha- OOF!" I stopped laughing when one of them (a.k.a Josee) threw a cup of hot tea on my face... with the hot tea pouring on my face "OW! The tea! It burns!" As soon as the pain went away, I glared back at them with slight hate. I'll make a note to myself to never taunt competitive teams armed with cups of hot tea.

No, no, no. This wasn't the reality-check moment. Having hot tea thrown at a person is... actually kinda comical if you think about it.

But moving on, we all had an early lead and Sky received the first tip from the Don Box. "It's an _All-In: Tango Takedown. Go to the National Academy of Tango to learn and perform the Argentinian dance. Do it wrong and you'll have to start all over again._ Do it perfectly and the instructor will give your next tip where you must take a cab to a ranch where you'll find the next Don Box."

Hm, the tango. Sounds like a romantic date setting for me and Kitty.

"Was what that about a romantic date with the sister?" Emma said with a smug smile on her face, while Kitty had a flushed appearance on her cheeks. Wait?! I said that out loud?! I told myself never to say stuff like out loud since the first challenge, and there I go recklessly blurting out stuff.

I nervously stammered. "W-well, you see I-I was joking around and-er I meant was being serious-uh I mean what I actually saying was-" I stopped mid-sentence at seeing our ride arrive. I pointed out it quickly and sheepishly smile. "Oh look, our ride's here! Let's get the academy, 'kay?"

We all piled into the cab and arrived quickly toward the academy where the instructor and his partner were performing the tango. The four of us presented wide-eyes at the scene just as the other teams from behind us arrived.

"Whoa, dude. He's good." I heard Geoff comment. No kidding.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Tango Academy)**

 **Zane: Of course we know how to do the tango... *slightly nervous* uh... sort of. We aren't called the Acrobats for nothing.**

 **Sky: *Unamused* We're called the Acrobats because of our athletic skills, not because of dancing.**

 **Zane: Either way, we've taken classes on how to do the tango and that there's a dip at the end of it.**

 **Sky: At least that's what we got of out of the few we attended to. We weren't able to go to all of them because of *points to Zane* his reckless stunts that put him into the hospital.**

 **Zane: *Waves his hand carelessly* Pfft, don't worry we got this in the bag. I have a feeling today's gonna be an easy day.**

 **Sky: No, Zane! *facepalms and groans* Ugh, great. *Frightened* Now something bad's sure gonna happen.**

 **Zane: Oh c'mon. What could possibly go wrong? *gets sat on by an elephant... that got inside somehow* AGH! *strains* Where and how did this elephant even get in here?**

* * *

The Sister went first for the tango challenge (and yes, I did want to tango with Kitty for all you giddy readers). It was going well as first, until Kitty accidentally stepped on Emma's foot prompting an 'OW!' from her and the instructor to disapprove. Also, I think _my_ foot broke just from seeing that.

And unfortunately, yet disgustingly, the Ice Dancers were able to pull off a flawless routine and even impressed the instructor who clapped and gave them next tip much to nearly everyone's dismay (because the Surfers complemented and cheered for them).

"So long losers... and Zane!" Josee taunted as she and Jacques ran back outside to go to the next part of the race, whilst directing their evil smiles and dark laughs toward me. Not to mention, she said my name with so much poison it would put a snake to shame. I returned wide-eyes at them, before I shook it off and glared at them.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: *Raising an eyebrow* Weird. Usually you return a taunt or comeback toward the Ice Dancers.**

 **Zane: I know. But for some reason I felt... *shrudders* scared... *looks to the camera with a frightened look along with Sky***

* * *

Moving along, the Cadets were up for their routine and... uh... I'm... not even sure if they were even trying to do the tango... it looked like they were ruining dancing for the rest of us. All of us looked on in disbelief. The instructor looked like he was gonna puke.

Everyone except Brody. "Woo! Go MacArthur!" Not that I'm judging but I have no idea what he sees in her.

"Annnd... DYAP!" MacArthur spun causing her to crash on top of Sanders and the instructor.

"Ow!" Sander groaned in pain.

"Crud!" That was probably the best word to go with as well as how good it was gonna get from there anyway.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Outside Tango Academy)**

 **Zane: *Using his phone* Hello, 911? Yeah, I just saw a couple of your trainees murder hip-hop right in front of me and five other witnesses.**

* * *

The Surfers went up. They actually were able to do good so far... and for some reason Geoff decided to throw Brody up into the air, much to his enjoyment. Sadly, he wasn't able to catch him, but instead Brody crashed right on top of him. They groaned in pain as the instructor disapproved their routine.

Not even sure you're allowed to even throw a person up into the air in tango.

"Ooh! Right in the sniffer!" Still, MacArthur gave sympathy for them. At least she cares for them. I hope.

Right after them, Sky and I were up and positioned to get ready to tango. Pun not intended.

"Ready?" I whispered.

"As I'll ever be." Sky responded quietly. We started our routine. Step-by-step, swiftly turning around, clap, step-by-step once again, twirling Sky around, dipping low. It was the perfect routine...

...if you didn't count the part where Sky accidentally kicked me right in the cheez-its right at the end.

"GAH!" I let out a high-pitched scream with wide-eyes, leaving Sky in shock and everyone cringing at my misfortune, even the instructor who disapproved us.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Tango Academy)**

 **Sky: *Concerned* My goodness! Are you okay?!**

 **Zane: *Glares back, holding his cheez-its, with a high-pitched voice* What do you think?! I sound like Elmo!**

 **(Author: *Sighs* Not even the male oc's are immune to the cheez-it attack. Sad, really.)**

* * *

So to add injury to insult on restarts, the Sisters tripped up, the Cadets literally crashed through a door, the Surfers spun out, and we...

Well, at least I did a dance...

* * *

 **Author: It's basically the 'Who Put You on the Planet?' Dance from Spongebob. I don't own it, needless to say. Just google it up and watch.**

 **It's hilarious.**

* * *

"Who put YOU on the planet? EUGH." I finished the routine and smiled... until I saw the Cadets, Sisters, and Surfers stared at me with faces ranging from disbelief, to looks as if I grew three heads, confusion, while Sky was facepalming at my attempt, and the instructor glared daggers at me.

I sulked down. "We're not getting that tip are we?" He only gave a thumbs down. "Figures."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sky: *Annoyed* Really? Just really?**

 **Zane: *Shrugs* Well, I don't wanna take the chance of *crosses his arms* getting kicked in the cheez-its again!**

* * *

Welp, I would say it could've been worse than it was, but there couldn't be anything worse than that. The Sisters went up, and were able to do their routine perfectly.

"YES!" Kitty cheered. "I'm gonna dip her again! Can you take a pic?" She offered the instructor her phone to take one.

"No time! Let's go!" Emma took her sister's hand and they ran off to their cab.

"Hey, what about us?!" Sky called back to them.

"I'm sure you'll catch up!" She kept going without turning back. Probably afraid of what the Ice Dancers are doing up ahead.

"I can tango with Kitty after the challenge right?" I yelled back to them, causing everyone else to stare back at me. I laughed sheepishly. "A-heheheheh... I-I mean so much for the alliance...?" It came out more of a question than statement.

Sky and I tried the dance routine again. Step-by-step, swift turn-around, clap step-by-step, spin Sky around... she fell and hit the ground.

"Whoops. Sorry." I apologized.

"Ow." She groaned in pain.

MacArthur chuckled and taunted. "Way to hurt your partner." I sent her a deadpan expression pointed to Sanders who had the same expression and held up her still-injured arm. "I mean... it happens." She shrugged sheepishly. Yeah, real smooth mall-cop.

The Cadets went up for their routine. Step, clap, MacArthur grabbed Sanders' injured arm, she spun around very fast, broke the rose vase, and crashed into the other wall. Everyone cringed at the impact.

"You, uh, have more roses right?" MacArthur said sheepishly to the instructor.

The Surfers tried their routine for a third time, step-by-step, swift turn around, clap, twirl, catch, dip, bring partner back up perfectly. The instructor approved their routine and brought up their next tip.

"Woo-hoo! Onto the next challenge bro!" Geoff gestured for his friend to follow outside to catch their ride.

"Right behind you dude!" Brody ran after him. Okay, now I'm starting to feel sad. Now all we have left are our respected/disliked enemies against us.

Sky and I tried our routine again: step-to-step, swift turn around, clap, except for the fact I _somehow_ twirled the both of us at the same time.

"AAH!" We both screamed and crashed into the wall, both of us covered in scratches and our hair messed up.

"How did you even spin you?" Sky groaned in pain.

"I have no idea..." I answered back.

The Cadets tried their routine again with Sanders leading this time. After twirling and catching MacArthur, they both nervously looked back to the instructor judging their performance. He approved and gave them their tip, which made MacArthur cheer.

And the sad, demoralized Acrobats (us)? They (we) groaned in disappointment.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Tango Academy)**

 **Zane: *Puts arm up in frustration* How did we go from zeroes to heroes and back to _zeroes_? We're the most experienced this game.**

 **Sky: *Sighs* Experience doesn't have anything to do with this and you doomed us. Remember?**

 **Zane: *Frowns at her* Tempting fate has NOTHING to do with this. I'm sure we'll get it the next try.**

* * *

Step-by-step, swift turn-around, clap, hit each other in the face by accident...

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Tango Academy)**

 **Zane: *Crosses arms and frowns as Sky glares at him* That doesn't prove anything...**

* * *

I wasn't wrong about what I said. It just meant we were out of practice. In other words, Sky stepped on my foot, we bumped our heads into each other by accident, and I spun her out.

And needless to say, the instructor still disapproved us.

I gripped my hair in frustration. "Aw, come on! How can we not get this right?!"

Sky groaned in pain as she went laying on the floor. "I don't know, but can we just go one attempt without hurting each other?"

"At this point, bumping heads, doing a stupid dance, spinning both of us out, AND getting kicked in the cheez-its is the highlight of our day so far." I sighed in demoralization. "Maybe we should just qui-"

"DON'T. EVEN. SAY THE Q-WORD." Sky cut me off right then and there pointing her finger on my chest. Fire and determination (mostly fire) burned in her eyes. "We're gonna finish this! Even if it's the last thing we do!"

She had no idea how true those words could have been.

Nevertheless, she took lead this time. Step-by-step, swift turn around, clap, me spinning her around, and dipping her without any cheez-it attacks. I looked back with a slightly nervous look on my face as the instructor judged us. He shrugged and gave us a thumbs up.

"YES!" I cheered, putting my hands up into the air... and accidentally dropping Sky in the process.

"Ow!" Sky moaned.

I had wide-eyes for a brief second and sheepishly smiled. "Whoops. Sorry. Got excited." I picked her up, took the tip, and we both ran outside.

We ran out to the yellow cab which was waiting for us. "Quick, to the ranch!" Sky commanded. The cab driver double-timed to the next location for the challenge.

Right now, we were now discussing our new game plan. "Okay, so we lost an insurmountable amount of time back there and we need to make that up. So this time, we win this next part of the challenge by any means necessary."

I smiled brightly. "So does that mean-"

"NO." Sky cut me off swiftly with a glare. "You cannot sabotage the Ice Dancers."

I sighed in disappointment. "Oh, c'mon. Knowing them, they've probably sabotaged us and the Sisters. I'm just leveling the playing field. Besides, it's what I'm labeled for." I crossed my arms.

"Don't worry, Zane." She placed a hand on my shoulder for reassurance, which didn't really help or have any effect at all. We stepped out of the cab and ran to the next Don Box. "We'll be able to pull ahead."

I pressed the button on the Don Box. "It's a _Botch or Watch: Ride 'em, Catch 'em._ I'm up. I have to use boleadoras to tie around one of the emus while riding a horse. Then we ride it up by taxi to Mount Aconcagua to the chill zone." I crossed unamused and annoyed expression crossed my face. "I'd say this would be a cakewalk, but we're junked over already."

Sky formed a confused face. "Why would you say that?" I pointed blankly to our emu that had a picture of us on it which was covered in oil. She had a surprised expression and ran over, whereas I casually walked over. "What the? Who did this?" A pair of evil laughs came right after her question. No surprise those two would pull a fast one on us.

"You get three answers, and they're ALL Ice Dancers." I glared at them as they approached with evil, satisfied smiles on their faces. I'm surprised they waited that long for us and weren't going ahead in the competition.

"Look, Jacq. It looks like the Acrobats are in a slippery situation." Josee taunted, then laughed with her partner.

"Oh, no. How will they ever get out of this one?" Jacques put a hand on his face in fake distress, while a holding a bottle of oil in the other. "They're all greased up." He chuckled.

I smiled sarcastically back at them. "A-hmhmhm. Yeah, the Acrobats won't be so happy when they find that the closed-minded, yet open-mouthed Ice Dancers oiled their emu. How will they solve this conundrum?"

Both of them didn't seem to be affected by my insult. "Doesn't matter. With you sabotaged, you two don't have a chance of staying in the race."

"That's what you think." Sky glowered at them. "Oil won't stop us."

"But it will slow you down." Josee continued. "Seeing you two eliminated will be all the more satisfying when we take first place at the finale."

"If you can even make that far, you penguin." She glared. Ooh, it's getting real here.

"Look who's talking heartbreaker." That was enough to make Sky sulk in shame. I placed my hands on her comfort.

"Hey, watch your bounds, ice witch." I glowered at Josee. "We're all not perfect." Besides, if it weren't for Chris, she wouldn't still have this guilt to deal with. "I'd rather have someone who breaks someone's heart by accident, than a cold-hearted snake who cheats for gold on purpose!"

"Would a cold-hearted snake give payback toward a conniving trickster who's sabotaged our attempts at winning throughout the race?" Josee glared a hole at me.

I only crossed my arms. "It's called revenge and justice. Something I give to trash-holes like you two."

"Hm, well whatever satisfies you." She turned to walk away, but swiftly turned around. "Oh, and by the way, you might wanna send the Sisters a goodbye letter while you're at it if they finish last."

I glared and replied darkly. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, did we not tell you?" Jacques innocently placed a hand on his chin. "They too also seem to be a greasy situation." His eyes moved to where Kitty was riding her horse and trying to get her boleadora around the emu, but slipped through. Okay normally, this would be the part where I give my enemies a slap-on-the-wrist (an undermined way of saying it) and let them walk away with something to think about.

But that was the old me, and right there was the new me who wanted nothing more but to eliminate the Ice Dancers from the competition by ANY means necessary.

The look I gave them, would've been enough to kill a puppy. "You just crossed the line, ice witches. I warned you about these mishaps against my friends! You're gonna wish you hadn't been born."

Josee smiled sickeningly. "Oh, and what are you gonna do about it?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, I don't know. Can I borrow some of that oil?"

"Nice try. I wasn't born yesterday." Jacques refused.

I fake sighed and started to walk over to my horse. "Well, I guess you're right. You can't be fooled. I guess I'll just be on my way and-HAHAHAHAHAHA." A mischievous smile grew across my face the moment I said that and as I placed a large amount of oil on the Ice Dancers' emu, making them gasp.

Don't ask where I got the bottle of oil, just accept the fact I oiled them back.

Jacques gestured to me in frustration. "Seriously? When does he not any tricks up his sleeve?"

Josee ignored the question and stomped to me in anger. "That's it. Now YOU'VE crossed the line acrobat! I want to see that last look on your face when you've had an unfortunate accident."

"Too late. Already happened when you came along." I came back with a smile, making her growl and glower at me.

"Well, now it's personal between you, us, and the Cadets! We'll see to it personally you don't even get to the chill zone if we have to!" She got in my face with angry expression which I gladly returned back with my own.

"Oh, bring it! 'Cause you ice pigs and us are nemesises, now!" I put a finger on my chin. "Or is it nemesi? Nemesoses? Neme-people?" I shook it off. "Whatever! Point is we're gonna crush you!"

"Well, then break a leg... literally!" Josee said deviously and all of us walked away with glares on our faces.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Crossing his arms* Just so we're clear, we're gonna to get rid of them, right?"**

 **Sky: *Serious glare* Definitely.**

* * *

"Okay, horse. Giddyup." I commanded the horse. It didn't move at all. I tapped my heels against it. "Giddyup." Still didn't move. "Get along lil' horsey!" I frowned when it looked back at me then back again forward. "Come on, please so we can finish the race?" Still nothing.

Sky walked over from the back of us. "Maybe you need to give it head start." She slapped the horse's behind, then it kicked her in the face.

"Aah!" I didn't have time to react since the horse took off in an instant. And might I say it dangerously fast to the point it would rival Speedy Gonzales in a race plus I was barely hanging on. "Slowdownslowdownslowdown!" It went faster than before. "Slow down, pretty please with hay on top?" I asked nicely in its face.

The horse slowed down... but the force of deceleration launched me into a tree... face-first. "Ow."

 **Attempt number 2...**

I got back on the horse as it ran to the emu again which was running away again. I threw my boleadora at the emu and I nailed it. "HA!" But it slipped off and the bird blew a raspberry at me. I sent an annoyed look to the camera in response.

 **Attempt number 3...**

The emu was looking around its environment and was completely unaware I had it right where I wanted it. I had a devious smile on my face and took aim at the bird. I threw my boleadora at it...

...just as the emu ducked his head down for some grass and for the boleadora to pass it. I looked on in disbelief at the scene. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention and somehow the boleadora wrap itself around me.

"Oh, come on!" I yelled in frustration.

 **Attempt number 4...**

This time, I was sneaking up on the emu as it moved to another location for grass. Suddenly, I outright ran toward it and lunged myself at it and wrapped my arms around it...

But it stepped out of way and I tumbled down the hill grunting in pain as I went down. "Ow! Ooh! Ugh! Aah!"

 **Attempt number 5...**

I rode on the horse this time and was chasing the emu that was running away. This time, I had it in my line of sight. "Okay, I get this bird on the count of five." I put my boleadora up to throw it. "1... 2... 3... 4..."

*BAM*

I took a power pole to the face, not knowing was it in my way. The horse seemed to have a concerned expression as I glared back at it with a black eye now evident on my right side. "You could've warned me, ya know."

 **Attempt number 6...**

I got back on the horse and both of us caught to the emu. "Okay, this time I'm countin' to three." I took aim once again. "1... 2..."

*THWACK*

That time, I took a tree to the face, slid off it downward and groaned in pain. Needless to say, I failed once again.

 **Attempt number 7...**

I clenched my teeth in annoyance as I was back on the horse chasing it once again. "That's it. I'm only countin' to one!" Once again, I lined my sights up toward the bird. "*Inhale*"

"AAAH!" The horse and I were falling down from a cliff and hit the ground below.

 **Attempt number 8...**

Yet another crazy plan. The emu was walking across the field as I stood far up from a tree with my boleadora in hand on a rope in the another.

"Yoinks and away!" I yelled as I swung down from the top of the branch.

*POW*

But I hit another tree that was in the way.

"Yoinks and away." I said once again, this time more dizzily. I once again swung down from the branch.

*POW*

And hit another tree.

"Yoinks... and away..." Swung down...

*POW*

"Yoinks... and a...way-"

*POW*

"Yoiks... and awoo...

*POW*

"Yoinks..."

*POW*

"Yolks..."

*POW*

"Yaff..."

*POW*

"Jagermanjensen..."

*POW*

I slid down a few feet down the tree and immediately stood up in irritation. "OOH..." I sped off and came back with an axe and cut down ALL the trees that were in my way. I stood up top from the original tree and smiled in satisfaction as I thought there was nothing in the way now.

"Yoinks and away!" I swung down this time avoiding all the tree since they were cut down.

*POW*

And instead hit the rock as I was getting closer to the emu which I'm pretty sure was passing by.

 **(A/N: Looney Tunes reference scene here folks. I couldn't resist putting on here. Oh and 'Jagermanjensen' from Spongebob.)**

 **Attempt number 9...**

I glared at the bird who was yet again eating more grass and said quietly. "Okay, emu. First you you somehow tie me around with my own boleadora, next send me tumbling down a mountain side, give me a black eye by smashing me into various objects, make me fall down a cliff, AND make a complete fool out of myself..." I smiled deviously. "But this time, you're gonna know the wrath of Zane J. Blackwood!"

I turned my gaze to the camera. "The j stands for Jax." I charged toward the emu, screamed, annnnd... basically missed the tackle prompting it to run away.

"Seriously? How is catching an emu THIS hard?!" I complained while I ran toward from behind my horse. "Giddyup!" I kicked the horse's backside...

...but it turned its face with an angry expression. I made an 'uh-oh' smile and kicked around to show my innocence. Still, it neighed loudly and I ran off in the other direction, screaming in terror.

"So... how's it-"

"RUN AWAY!" I cut Sky off running past her. Behind, I heard her scream in terror and catch up to me. We both high-tailed it up toward a tree and sat in it. We sat in silence as the horse glared up at us and neighed angrily.

"Uh... you wouldn't happen to have some hay right?" I asked Sky sheepishly.

"No." She answered back, unamused.

I groaned in frustration. "This stinks."

"Care to tell me how this happened?" She asked me.

"Well, I give you the highlights." I cleared my throat. "Emus can be slippery creatures, can also be troublesome trolls, always pay attention to where you're going, never swing down from trees, or kick a horse from behind and somehow boleadoras can swing back and tie you up."

Sky raised an eyebrow. "Okay... not gonna even ask."

"Overall, we're finished." I summed up.

"It's not over yet." Sky tried to reassure me.

"Sky, I haven't heard or seen anybody in the past hour. All the teams are pretty much..." I trailed off when I saw Kitty and Emma run away from their emu when it chased them right up into the tree we were in.

"Well, this stinks." Emma groaned in frustration.

"Hey, that's what I said a minute ago." I agreed to her with a smile. She and Kitty turned to us with surprised expressions.

"Zane, Sky? How did you two get up here... aaaannnd what happened to you?" Kitty mostly asked me in concern of my black eye.

"Well, let's just say emus are trolly little creatures and it's never a good idea to kick a horse." I sheepishly admitted. I didn't want to explain to her the entire story.

"...Okaaaaay." She responded. The Sisters' emu screeched up to us and our horse neighed up.

"Well, everyone else is gone, the alliance seems like it's total bust, and we're gonna tie for last." Emma summed up then sighed. "The irony of it all."

"It's not ironic. It's just coincidental!" I tried to brighten her up. Right after I said that, the horse gave up and left us. "See?" And our emu came to the tree and screeched at us angrily... for some reason.

The smile left my face that instant. "Okay, _now_ it's ironic." I looked on for a few seconds and saw the Ice Dancers run past us with their emu. "Oh, would you look at that. The Ice Dancers have completed the challenge and-" I realized in the instant we were now gonna have a close race. " **THE ICE DANCERS ARE GETTING AHEAD OF US!** We have to finish this NOW." Determination burned in my eyes.

"No kidding." Kitty agreed with me. She handed her boleadora to Emma. "Be ready, Emma." She dropped down and grasped the emu.

"Gonna be close, Sky. Tie it up when I tell ya." I commanded her. I drop attacked my emu and disoriented it. "Now!" She threw the boleadora around it, and this time and it stayed on.

"Yes!" Sky cheered. "You two good?" She asked the Sisters.

"Yup!" They replied.

"Good, now let's crush those ice pigs." I smiled defiantly.

We all ran to the road and called for taxis. Quickly, we we entered into our own yellow cabs. "Mount Aconcagua, fast!" The cab driver took off and we caught up to the Ice Dancers' cab. Our and their cab were side to side. I rolled down the window, so did they and I met the Josee's face which presented a glare at me. I returned it with my own and it continued that way until we all arrived to the mountain.

In the blink of an eye, we piled out of the cabs and ran to the chill zone. I carried the emu on back, Jacq did the same, and Kitty... was tied up to hers. I didn't even have time to ask.

Sky and I glared as we were focusing on Jacques and Josee right next us on the left.

"For gold!" Josee yelled and stormed ahead with her partner.

"But this is third place." Jacques corrected her.

"Whatever!"

"For justice!" I screamed for morale and ran faster with Sky at my side. We were neck-in-neck with the Ice Dancers toward the chill zone. We pushed ourselves as much as we could, but the Ice Dancers pulled ahead of us.

"Ice Dancers, 3rd place. Acrobats, 4th." Don announced.

"Ha! Take that Acro-dummies!" Josee taunted us with an evil smile.

"Well, junk you too ya-"

"LOOK OUT!" Kitty screamed cutting off my sentence.

I didn't even have time to move out of the way, took the hit from her emu, and was sent off falling down the cliff screaming on the way down. And this wasn't your typical fall down the cliff sort of joke.

This was the one-way trip to your death kind of fall.

" **ZANE!** " I heard Kitty, Sky, and Emma in panic as they helplessly watched me fall.

Once I hit the ground, immense pain was all over me and groaned in pain loudly.

I couldn't go on... not like this.

I heard my heart pound loudly, slowing down every second.

I closed my eyes slowly closed on themselves as I laid on the ground in pain.

The last thing I did was helplessly and weakly lift my hand.

"S...Sky... E...Emma... K...K...Kitty..." My hand hit the ground.

I heard the last beat from my heart.

I was finished.

* * *

 **(O.O)**

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 **Uh... well... you see... the events that caused... all of this that... maybe it's just a... well, just imagine...**

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 **Okay... I give up. No positive spin I can put on this.**

 **:(**


	25. An End is Near

**Kitty**

* * *

I... couldn't believe it...

I... just... this... this... can't be happening...

I... I... pushed him off the mountain and he fell screaming... his voice fading away until... nothing...

He's... gone...

I took him...

What... what have I done?

I didn't feel anything for a moment when as soon as he disappeared below. I was... numb... shocked. It was only for a moment.

My eyes immediately started tearing up and I cried after that feeling went away, ignoring the taunts from the Ice Dancers they were throwing at me. I... I couldn't slow down my emu in time to prevent myself from pushing Zane off the mountain.

It... It... was my fault I kept telling myself. He's gone because of me.

The only thing that kept me from tearing myself apart was Emma and Sky holding me back and trying their best to calm me down.

I couldn't. How would I knowing that I took away Zane's life right then and there? It made me wonder how Sky wasn't even near tormented and sad as I was.

"It's okay." Emma told me with a very sorrowful expression, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Everything will be alright." Even she didn't seem too sure of that. It made me wonder how Zane would react if he even did survive the fall.

He probably won't forgive me after what I did. How could he anyway?

I shook off that thought as the paramedics took his body, which was covered up and placed on the stretcher, and prepared him for a trip to the hospital when Don called for them.

Sky was about to go away with them when she asked, "Do you want to come with me to the hospital?"

I instantly took up it without second thought. "Yes." She knew right then and there I was gonna go no matter what. Emma showed no sign to even try stop me. I guess she too thought I would do anything to find Zane's condition as soon as possible.

It was a silent ride up to the Emergency Room apart from my still shaken up sobs. Emma did her best to comfort me while Sky seemed to be herself keeping herself calm. When we arrived, all three of us waited in the patient area anxiously. I'm not sure how long we've been waiting, but I was able to tell we couldn't keep our minds off Zane as the doctors were inspecting him for damage.

I was conflicting with myself whether if I should know of his injuries or not. For me, I seemed to know already what his injuries were and if he would make it or not.

After what it seemed to hours, one of the doctors came out. "Sky Blackwood?" She was hesitant but stood up and walked over to him.

"Yes?" Her voice cracked under depression. "Is... he okay?"

"We've been doing some analyzing and could make out a few bruises. Other than that we... haven't been able to perform any proper scans." The doctor said. How were they not be able to perform any proper scans?

* * *

 **Author: *Cheerfully* Lampshade hanging that's what.**

 **Kitty: *Glares* Could you please take this seriously?**

 **Author: *Shrugs* What? I'm just answering your question... and trying to make this chapter positive...**

 **Kitty: Bad. Attempt.**

* * *

"We've... done everything we could. His heart readings... have flat-lined."

My skin ran cold. I was stunned I couldn't think or say anything.

He... he couldn't have...

No. No way! I didn't want to believe him. I...I just couldn't Th-this... this has to be fake!

"No." I spoke for the very first time and shook my head as tears flowed my eyes. "He...he can't be! It... th-that's not possible! Z... Zane can't be! He has to..." I stammered in disbelief and denial.

"Kitty..." Emma's voice rang out softly behind me. "It's okay."

"No, it's not okay!" I snapped back with a glare with tears in my eyes. She had a surprised expression on her face at my outburst. "I was trying to get to the chill zone and ended up pushing him off the mountain without even stopping! Now he's gone and it's all my fault! I'm the one that caused all of this! How can you even look at me?! I'm even your sister or a monster?!" I turned to Sky who seemed to have a sympathetic expression. "What about you, Sky? Can you even forgive me on what I did to your cousin?! I know I can't to myself! Knowing I was the one who got you not only knocked out of the competition but took away your loved sibling?! Someone who you were close to?! I... I don't even why I'm here anyway." I sulked down in extreme despair and sobbed again.

"Can you give us a moment?" Sky asked the doctor. He nodded went back outside the waiting room. Sky walked over to me and knelt down with a cross between comforting but sorrowful expression. "Kitty, I know how you feel. I know what it's like to lose someone you've loved or crushed on. I'm going through the same thing you are right now." She voice suggested she was about to mourn as well. "I'm sure Zane had the same level of feelings for you and would be able forgive you right now... and I'll let you know this." She paused for a moment. "I know that it was an accident... and I forgive you." She was able to lighten me up, still only a little. It wasn't enough to make me stop thinking about Zane.

"Kitty." Emma tried again. "I'm... I'm sorry." She hugged as I started to cry once again. "Could you ask the doctor if we could see Zane one last time?" She asked Sky.

Sky nodded her head. She walked back to the doctor who was in the hallway. We heard muffled voices from the other side. Not too long after, Sky opened the door and gestured for us to follow. Emma and I got up from our seats and walked behind. When we were on our way to see Zane, many thoughts were flowing through my mind at that moment. Was he truly okay? Is he even conscious? Would... would he even forgive me? The last question was the one I kept asking myself if he was still alive.

The doctor stopped and stepped aside a door. "He's in here." He opened it for us to go in. Emma and Sky voluntarily let me go in first. Once I entered, I was greeted by Zane... lying still in the bed. Not even breathing, no sign of life in him. I stopped for a moment, feeling very empty and hurt inside. I walked over slowly and gave him one last hug... the best one I could anyway.

"Zane." I said in his name for the first time in for what it seemed like a long time. "I'm... I'm sorry." I started crying softly on his chest for who knows how long. I could also hear Sky sobbing and I'm sure Emma was demoralized by the scene.

This was it. The end of someone who I loved and never got become his girlfriend.

The last time we would spend ever with him.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Then... something miraculous happened...

.

.

.

.

* * *

 **Zane**

* * *

 _Beep..._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Beep..._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Beep..._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Beep..._

 _._

 _._

 _._

I heard faint beeping... crying... and... sobbing...

I felt something on my body. I... I'm still alive...?

I blinked a few times and was able to open my eyes no problem. It took a few moments for my vision to clear up. I saw Kitty crying quietly on my upper chest, I looked around, saw Sky sobbing quietly, and even Emma seemed demoralized.

I... had no idea what's been going on...

"Girls?" Kitty was the first one to look at me when I spoke. She had a surprised look on her face and gasped. Sky and Emma didn't notice until a second later.

"ZANE!" She screamed and smiled in delight and hugged me tightly. "You're back!"

"Um... yeah..." I felt awkward at that moment, trying to find words to put in. I put a hand on my head as I felt it pound. "Ugh, it feels like I took a boulder to the face."

"Well, you technically fell and took a rock to the... well... everything." Emma told me, stepping over.

"We were worried sick you were gone for sure." Sky answered.

"What do you mean?" I asked them.

"When you fell down the mountain, the doctors found you barely breathing when you were unconscious. They expected you to have life threatening injuries." Sky explained.

"Also after they strapped you up, they said you were flat-lining." Emma answered.

I immediately widened my eyes. "Wait, what?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Yes, she's correct." A male voice inquired. We all looked to see the doctor walking in and checking up on us. "We could only see a couple bruises after the fall. When you flat-lined, we assumed that you might've had multiple broken bones or other life-threatening injuries. We couldn't properly scan you. However, you come out of the incident just fine despite you were unconscious."

"So... what kind of injuries do I have?" I questioned, still in confusion.

"Only a few bruises. Nothing too major. You are clear and may leave if you want to right now, but we'll just a few more minutes here to talk to the host and sort out if we can let you continue the race." The doctor left the room and headed to where Don might be.

Sky broke the short silence. "Like I saying, we were shocked that after they scanned you properly when you were unconscious that you had a few sores. We all thought you would be-" She was interrupted when Kitty starting crying again. Sky and Emma glanced worryingly at one another. I smiled, nodded, and gestured for them to wait outside. Both seemed hesitant, but both did what I silently requested.

Kitty grasped me even tighter and was crying more and louder. "I'm so sorry, Zane! I-I'm so sorry! I-I really am! I... I tried to stop! I-I did! I... I just couldn't. I-I bumped into y-you a-a-and l-left you f-falling down the mountain. I th-thought you would... A-a... and now... y-you probably w-won't forgive me-e-e-e-e!" Her voice was cracking in between her begging. I couldn't stand to see her like this. Knowing Emma, she was probably listening in from outside and was trying her hardest not to barge in here.

Broken, shattered beyond belief... demoralized. It's especially hard for someone like Kitty to go through this.

I stood up from the hospital bed and placed an arm around her. "It's okay, Kitty. I forgive you anyway. It wasn't even your fault in the first place. It was the Ice Dancers that sabotaged us all and got me falling off the cliff... in an indirect way. You had nothing, NOTHING to do with this. It could've have been your sister... or my cousin to take the hit and... well... I'd be mourning for them if they took the hit too. Things could've been worse if they took the fall." I sighed at the thought about it. "The accident was... unavoidable to say the least... but it came out for the best." I smiled comfortably and so did she, but still some sadness still evident in her grin.

"Besides, if it were Jacq or Josee that did it, they'd be in coffins right now." I said truthfully.

Kitty hugged me tighter, making me grunt a little. "Thank you, Zane."

I nodded my head in approval. "You're welcome." I made an awkward expression. "Uh, by the way, did I soil myself when I was flat-lining?"

Kitty widened her eyes and smiled sheepishly. "Heh, heh... I... may have gone overboard with the crying."

I looked at her with understanding eyes and a smile. "Hey, I don't blame you." I sat up more in my bed. "If it were you in this hospital bed, I wouldn't even know how to stop myself back from murdering the Ice Dancers." I was serious too. I did say I would try to keep the Sisters in the race, but now it's more clear to put their safety first in this race.

"You don't look like the type of person to get angry." She replied, seeming surprised.

"Well... I do tend to hold back... a lot." I said truthfully. "Besides that, I've seen you get angry with MacArthur when we were racing Dune Buggies."

Kitty scratched her head bashfully. "Yeah, I always push back when someone fights me. I mean it's not like should let them roll over me. That and she hurt you." I gave a curious look. "I couldn't stand to even think you got a bruise from being pushed around. I was trying to protect you as best as I could back there."

I smiled. "Thanks, Wonder Woman. You've done a great job thus far."

Her smile turned into a sad frown after she giggled and sighed. "Then when you fell down the cliff... well... I thought I'd lose you. I wouldn't even know what to do if you were gone."

"Same here." I agreed to her with a smile. "If you were in my shoes right now, I'd pray that you stay alive. I wouldn't know what to do if this happened to my cute crush." She looked at me as if I had three heads with wide-eyes, and so did I to myself as I stammered realizing I let myself slipped. "Er...uh... I-I meant a friend like you. I mean I'd be worried if a nice friend was lying in the bed with critical injuries. I-I'm just saying, if I did have a... crush on... someone... it... well..." I sighed in defeat.

Kitty placed a hand on her heart which I assumed was beating fast. "You... you find me cute?"

I scratched my head shyly. "Well... yeah. Ever since we met on the elevator..."

I directed my smile toward her, and so she. I could see stars in her eyes as we were staring at each other passionately. The moment seemed it would last forever until...

 ***GRRUUMMMBBBLLLEE***

Both of us lost our smiles and widened our eyes at the sound that disrupted our moment.

Kitty's cheeks colored pink, her smile turning sheepish as she held her loud rumbling stomach. "Ahehehe... uh, sorry. I'm... super hungry right now. I forgot to eat something when I came here with Sky and Emma. I was just-" She was interrupted by her tummy grumbling even louder and blushed harder. "Aw, man. This is so embarrassing."

 ***GRRROOWWWLLLLL***

I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment, held my stomach which answered back as noisy as hers, and presented an awkward grin. "Heh, heh, same here. I haven't eaten anything for a while either." My stomach growled louder than before. I did manage to compose myself a little. "I'm so hungry I could go for emu right now. How 'bout you?"

She laughed in response, her flush also starting to faint. "No thanks. I'd rather not." As if it heard her, Kitty's stomach rumbled irritably in protest causing her face to color again and laugh awkwardly. "On second thought, that sounds pretty good right about now."

"Yeah, I thought so." I grinned, slightly cheekily holding my stomach again as it made more noises. "Let's head outside and maybe we'll get something to munch on." Seriously, it felt like I haven't eaten days. I really wanted to go for emu right then and from Kitty said, she'd probably want the bird too.

"Right." We started to walk to the door to exit, but both of us got caught up in it. Man, for pete's sake Zane. You forgot your manners. What will we do with you?

"Oh!/Oops, heh. Sorry./My mistake. You first." Kitty and I spoke at the same time after backing out of the door space. "Eh, no./No, thanks. You should go/I'll wait. Hey, I'm okay with staying behind./ What ever happened to ladies first? You're injured so.../I insist you... Well, you've been considerate to me./It's only a few sores. I know that, but-/I'll keep doing the same-" We both laughed in enjoyment at our current predicament. It was kinda fun we were accidentally messing around in the door. The joy of it didn't last long though.

 ***GRRRROOWWWLLLL/GRRUUMMMBBBLLLEE***

Both of us had wide-eyes and blushed in embarrassment from our loud tummies sounding out their complaints of being empty and ruined our fun moment. We gripped them in discomfort at the same time. I seriously hoped no one didn't hear from outside.

"You first." I repeated for politeness' sake while sheepishly grinning.

Kitty smiled back in response with redness still on her and exited out (And yes, I admit it. Her face was cute. Very cute). I followed closely behind her where we walked through the hallways in silence. It made me slightly nervous for two reasons: 1. I couldn't think of anything else to talk about, and 2. I seriously hope our stomachs wouldn't go off again. We were already embarrassed in front of each other enough. I was thinking about confessing I truly felt to her since Dubai. I was... shy about it. Just saying she was cute wasn't enough of a confession anyway; more of a compliment.

We soon neared the waiting room where I (correctly) assumed where Sky and Emma were waiting.

"So, I guess this is it, huh?" I said after that quiet walk.

"What's what?" Kitty asked me.

"You know. The race. We're nearing the end. Down the final five. If one of us gets eliminated, it'll... be a while before we even see each other." I spoke the last quietly to myself.

"I'm pretty sure it won't be THAT long." She smiled back in reassurance.

"Yeah... but in 'zane-time', 2 days is like 23 years." I exaggerated on purpose. "Plus, I'm starting to feel a lot of pressure right now."

"Hey, we have each others backs remember?" Kitty told me. "As long as we stick together, we'll be able to come out of these challenges alive." I blinked back blankly (alliteration for you literary folks). She presented wide-eyes realizing what she just said, then presented another shy smile. "Oops. Um, sorry. I hit... a nerve didn't I?"

I grinned back. "Nah, you're just fine." I opened up my arms invitingly. "Courtesy hug before we go to the competition?"

She shrugged and we both hugged each other. I had an amazing, warming feeling inside of me. Not sure if it was because we were having a loving, yet friendly moment or if it was because I was starving.

I guess it might be because I'm... hug-gry. Heh, heh, get it?

*Silence from readers... even the cricket didn't find it amusing...*

Ah, whatever.

* * *

 **Author: *Smiling* The story was rolling along just fine. *Frowns* Then you said 'hug-gry'.**

 **Zane: *Glares* Hey, you're the one who made me say it!**

 **Author: No excuse.**

* * *

Our heartwarming moment didn't last that long though. When I opened my eyes, I looked to see Sky and Emma standing there from what it probably looks like the entire time and broke the hug. Kitty was about to question me, but then she noticed the 'uh-oh' expression on my face and turned around. Needless to say, she also had the same face I did.

Emma grinning more widely and smugly than Sky at that moment asked cheerfully. "So! Having a private moment?"

Kitty scratched the back of her head and smiled bashfully as I returned a glare that would've killed a person 20 times over. "Very funny." I sarcastically replied.

 ***GRRRROOWWWLLLL/GRRUUMMMBBBLLLEE***

Bad timing, stomachs. Bad timing!

Kitty and I blushed from embarrassment and grasped our tummies as Emma was laughing while Sky giggled.

"N-Not funny, Emma!" Kitty exclaimed despite the humiliated expression on her face and while I did my best to glare at them both.

Emma wiped a tear from her eye. "You're right. It's hilarious!" She laughed even harder and fell down on the floor. I'm glad our shame brings amusement to your standards.

Sky stopped giggling but still smiled. "Let's leave 'em alone already. They look like they're about to burst." At least, she has rules and limits.

"We are gonna something to eat before we go back, right?" I questioned, hopefully and sheepishly.

"They have food on the ride we're going on." Sky answered. Kitty and I sighed and smiled in relief. Thank goodness. I could eat an entire buffet right now.

Speaking of which, is what exactly what we did. At least me and Kitty were enjoying most of it. In a way, we were sort of having a eating competition of our own. Needless to say, we were both satisfied.

Sky looked at me as if I three heads with a smug smile at everything I ate. That is, until I made the comeback reminding her of all the pork and beans she ate from the Buffalo challenge a while back. It was enough to redden her face and drop the subject from there.

It was a comfortable ride back to where we finished. But on the way there, a lot of stuff's been going through my head. I've been questioning whether I should step out of the competition to keep Sky safe. Ever since coming back from the mountain incident, I've been debating whether or not we should be continuing this race. I've always been sort of the protective cousin type despite my 'get back at you for messing with me and/or my friends' type of guy. But then I remembered, there are some risks I still have to take, and that Emma and Kitty were still in the race despite the accident.

That and I didn't want to give the Ice Dancers their satisfaction and REALLY wanted to wipe those smiles off their faces... which was right about now when me and Sky were walking toward the chill zone.

"Oh, look Jacq. Zane is ok. What a relief! It would've bad if he was knocked out of the competition." Josee taunted sarcastically as I neared them. That little ice witch and her spider pig.

"I know. It's amazing that after Kitty pushed him off the mountain he was between a rock and a- GAH!" I cut Jacq's insult off by kicking right where the sun don't shine, causing him to scream like a girl and bopped Josee right on top of her head putting both of them down to the ground.

"I have NEVER felt more satisfied than giving what you two deserve." I glaring at them, saying my statement calmly while holding up my fist.

"Preaching to the choir!" MacArthur replied.

"All beatdowns aside," Don intervened, "Zane, the doctors have spoken to us and will allow you to continue the competition IF you feel like you're able to take the risk. But you must make the choice now."

I hesitated for a moment seeing Kitty's somewhat still sorrowful smile, Emma's own, the Surfers giving a thumbs up, the Cadets shrugging, then back to Sky who gave a nod. "Eh, it seems risky. But Don, we're still in the race." I smiled in satisfaction. The Sisters and Surfers cheered. Sky hugged me back in appreciation. I looked back with a smirk to see Josee raising her head and rubbing her face, trying to regain her senses. "Just let me punch back in first." I jabbed her right in the face knocking her out again.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Crossing arms* Is it a foolish decision to keep going in the race? *Shrugs* Maybe. *Smiles* But with only a few sores inside of me, it's just a flesh wound. I'm no quitter anyway.**

 **Sky: *Grinning* That and there's gonna be MAJOR payback to Jacques and Josee for that incident.**

 **Zane: *Devious smile* OH, most definitely.**

* * *

 **A/N: And so the race still rages on. I named the chapter after the line Xur, Agent of the Nine (from Destiny) says when Guardians are done buying exotic gear from him. It felt appropriate to name it to this chapter for the aftermath of the incident. Oh and from here on out, Zane's gonna take the competition a little more seriously.**

 **Which is probably an understatement anyway.**

 **As a bonus, I'll try to release both chapters of the two-part Ridonculous Race semi-finals and finals if I work fast enough. 'Cause why stop and leave readers in suspense since the race won't slow down from here on out?**

 **Don't forget to review on what ideas I can put on the prequel my ever so loyal readers. Open to any suggestions, humorous, and emotional references alike.**

 **See ya!**

 **;)**


	26. Bahamarama

When Sky said there would be MAJOR payback to the Ice Dancers, she wasn't kidding at all. Both of us felt their time was coming soon whether by us, the Cadets, Sisters, Surfers, or the by the show itself, Jacq and Josee were going down, down, DOWN. I, and I'm sure everyone else but the Surfers, wanted them eliminated SO bad from the race so we could just gloat in their faces at how bad and big of babies they truly were!

But alas, that would be for another time. Right now, the alliance between us the Sisters was still into play. However, that wouldn't stop me from messing with the Ice Pigs. The pressure of the competition would get to them soon enough (and on an off-note as I found out later on, the Surfers won the last challenge). What was really bothering me though was that I wasn't able to tell Kitty my feelings, and I felt that time was winding down really fast.

After the Ice Dancers got their tip, and glared daggers at me and Sky which we did back, we went up to the Don Box for our next travel tip.

"We're going to the Bahamas." I said after reading the travel tip.

Sky and I wasted no time and took off to the road and called for a taxi. A yellow cab stopped in front of us and we got in. "Quick, airport!" The driver took off immediately to the next destination.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Inside the Cab)**

 **Zane: *Serious expression* From now on 'til the finale, we're gonna beat those Ice Dancers by *pounds fist into his open hand* any means necessary.**

 **Sky: You mean you're gonna-**

 **Zane: *Turns gaze to Sky* Only mess with them IF we have the advantage. *Hears the Ice Dancers' cab in front of them speed up and pass the others easily and smirks mischievously* And I see one comin' up.**

* * *

In a few minutes, we quickly arrived to the airport the same time as the Cadets, Surfers, and Sisters. Just in time to see Josee grabbing the desk manager from what I can definitely say is threatening him to put us all on later flights.

That and we overheard them as we came in.

"Four more teams are coming and YOU are gonna put them all on a later flight! GOT IT?" Josee's voice was very on edge in an angry kind of way.

MacArthur laughed and all of us were smiling ranging from happy to taunting. "I guess it's true. 'Ice' guys do finish last!"

"And if it makes you feel better, you might get a 5th place medal. A copper medal."

Surprisingly yet expectantly, this taunt didn't come from me. Sky got in on the action and spoke last with a smug smile on her face, if not even more than mine.

"FUH... RRG... RAH!" Josee was so furious to the point where she-and I'm not kidding- threw a flight computer out the window and was trying to break apart the other at the desk which the manager was hiding under to stay away from her wrath. Good call, dude.

Jacques glared at all of us. "We. Are. So sick of you CADETS AND ACROBATS!" And to even add insult to injury, Josee helped emphasize Jacq's statement by throwing the computer she was tearing apart away.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Sanders: *Chuckles* Did you see her face? *She and MacArthur laugh***

* * *

 **Sky: *Snickering and mischievous grin* I'm not one for messing with people's minds, but she deserved it and THAT was priceless! *She and Zane laugh***

* * *

A short plane ride later, all of us piled to the Don Box.

 _"It's an All-In: Arr Matey This Way be Treasure Maps. Travel to Nassau Pirate Museum by cab and search there for a Ridonculous Treasure Map. Once done, travel by jet ski to the coast Abaco Island to find the next Don Box and your tip."_ I read from the tip.

All of us darted to the taxi station. Once again the Ice Dancers sprinted ahead, separating us from the Sisters, and put us in last place. It seemed like a problem right?

No. No, it wasn't.

"Hey, driver. We'll pay for $20 bonus if you get ahead of that cab in front of us and make sure they NEVER pass by." I bribed once again since the prison challenge. The driver smirked and pulled ahead of the Ice Dancers' cab. Now, it was a slightly more relaxing ride to the museum.

And the best part? There was no sign of the Ice Dancers catching up. Just them going their normal speed.

We arrived to our location and stepped out of the cab.

"Yes! Second to last!" Sky cheered then put a finger on her chin. "Not sure it's something to celebrate about but at least we're ahead of the Ice Dancers." We both smiled for in victory.

That is until said enemies had the decency to run right over us. "See ya never, Acro-batties!" We both stood up and glared at them with scratches evident on faces as they laughed at us.

"Curse you Ice-pigs!" I shook a fist at them in anger. "We'll make sure you get 5th place! I'll even have Sky rip out your organs if it comes to that!"

"Yeah!" Sky glared at them before realizing what I just said then glanced at me questionably and suspensefully. "What?"

"Let's tear 'em new stump-hold!" I ignored her glanced and stormed back into focus before trying to catch up with them.

"Seriously, now you're just making up weird, motivational gags." Sky said before she ran to catch up with me. We ran inside the museum and started our search for the map. We split off into different sections in the museum. I search right while Sky was on the left. With all the teams here, pressure was nearing its peak for sure. I searched calmly through the barrels and behind picture frames. Sky was doing the same thing too on her end. Eventually, I went back to where she and Emma were, reached behind a frame, and got a Ridonculous Race map...

"Got one!"

...At the same time Kitty did... and we were holding the map in our hands. Major bashfulness and awkwardness comin' up in 3...2...1...

"Oh, sorry. My mistake. You can have it." We spoke at the same time. "No, I'll go find another one. Me and Sky/Emma will catch up. I'm okay with staying behind./I'll just give it to you anyway. I'm gonna give it back when you're not looking./I'm not gonna let you do that. Me and Emma can do the challenge our-/I'll give it back to you when you aren't-"

"Oh, Zane." Josee called deviously with a smile. "You can take this map!" She threw a rolled map into my eye.

Yes, I'm serious. INTO MY EYE.

"You really deserve it." She and Jacques laughed while I grunted in pain when she nailed me then glared at her along with Sky, Emma, and Kitty (especially her). I opened up the map and found out that...

Wait for it...

.

.

.

.

Wait for it...

.

.

.

.

...she threw a Ridonculous Race Map at me! HAHAHAHA. I like irony.

I smiled tauntingly along with the girls as we looked at it. "Wow, Josee. You're right. I really do deserve this." I showed her exactly what she threw at me. She and Jacq returned wide-eyes for a second before Josee growled in irritation and her partner facepalmed.

"Give me that!" She had livid eyes and was charging towards me at an alarming (by normal standards) pace to me.

"Well, if you say so." I shrugged casually. I gave it to her alright. A good knockback to the wall that is! HA, HA, HA, HA. Serving justice is so fun, hilarious, and satisfying at the same time. Don't you think so?

"How did you knock her back?" Kitty asked with a bewildered and confused expression. I thought she'd be used to it by now.

I showed her the wooden bat that was "secretly and wisely" placed in the map to cause such payback to the Ice Pigs.

"How and where did you even get that bat?"

"Sorry, that's one of the world's unsolvable mysteries like the Bermuda Triangle." I answered. "That and the author decided to help me troll."

 **(Author: *Nodding* It's true. I did.)**

Kitty giggled with her hand over mouth. "Wall-breaker." Sky was still confused (since I pulled that off a few more ago), while Emma didn't seem to be impressed one bit.

"Oh, look who's talking. You did it when we were catching fish in Vietnam." I pointed out with a smile.

"Technically, I was leaning on it...or was that using medium awareness?" She put a finger on her chin in thought.

"Maybe check the author's note in that adventure."

"If you two are done breaking the fourth wall and making medium awareness jokes," Emma interrupted our discussion with a slight frown, "We have a challenge to win." She ran off with Sky following close behind.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." I muttered in response as I started running with Kitty. We all took first and second place and ran past the Ice Dancer-

Oh, my mistake. I gave them the wrong name. Can somebody correct me?

"In your face, Ice Dunces!" Thanks, Kitty. That's what I was looking alongside a raspberry I blew at them making Jacq and Josee glare at us. We even heard MacArthur laughing from inside the museum as we exited out.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Outside the Museum)**

 **Kitty: *Smiling* Okay, that felt goooooood.**

 **Zane: *Grinning* I know right?**

* * *

We ran to the beach and into the changing our swim suits. Sky was done walking out already with me behind her. I was bust applying sunscreen with my folded swim shirt on my shoulder.

"Zane, why are you putting on sunscreen?" She asked me.

I shrugged in response. "Because we're... out in the sun?" It came out as more of question than it did to answering as I was starting to put some on my arms. "It's common knowledge. I mean if you want to get sunburn."

Sky raised an eyebrow. "We're heading to the coast Abaco Island and I assume we're not gonna be spending most of that time in the sun."

"Well, why take chances anyway?" I questioned.

Sky only rolled her eyes, sighed, and walked away. "I'll be on the jetski when you're ready."

"Okay." I called to her. When I finished, I turned to see Kitty staring at me with stars in eyes. I smirked mischievously, at pumped my arms. "Like the gunshow, Kitty?"

She shook her head after a second, had a sheepish smile, and her cheeks colored. "Wh-what? I have no idea what you're talking about." My smile turned even more smug; she knew she was cornered. "I-I was... um... staring at the sun?" Riiiiiight.

"Aw, thanks." I pretended to be happily embarrassed. "I guess I am hot." Kitty groaned, knowing she messed up and blushed even more. She walked back over to Emma who was on the jetski.

Revenge complete. And I didn't even have to try to get her attention.

After putting my swim shirt back on, I ran over to the jet ski where Sky reserved the driver's seat for me. I hopped on and took off at a comfortable speed heading to Abaco Island.

...For Sky's sake and because we had a huge lead.

"There's the island!" Kitty exclaimed, pointing ahead. She and I took travel tips from the Don Box.

 **(Author: Important Plot Point)**

"Oh no, it's a _Random Botch._ " She read from her tip with concerned look on her face.

"What's so bad about that?" I asked with a confused expression, then looked back on the travel tip and I realized. "Oh. _Dive to Survive: Whoever's holding this tip-_ "

Emma sighed in relief, which I returned with a glare while Kitty looked to her. "Hey!/Emma."

"Sorry." She apologized.

"Whoever's holding this tip must search for sunken treasure...?" Kitty finished looking unsure and a little scared.

 _"Botchers must navigate through underwater tunnels and find gold doubloons with your map, a flashlight, and small... very small tank of oxygen. You REALLY need that to live."_ I read from it and then frowned. "Thank you Captain Obvious. _Find the big room with treasure, take the doubloons, swim back up to the pier to your jetski and along the beach to the first mid-point chill zone... or don't, enjoy your new watery grave and while your partner may never smile at a beach once again."_ As soon as I finished, I felt Kitty hugged me from behind extremely tight.

To the point where breathing was a challenge.

"Ca... can I have some... breathing room?" I strained.

She let go off me from behind and sheepishly apologized. "Sorry. Uh... L-Let's just get this challenge over with."

Kitty ran over to put her helmet and oxygen tank on her... somewhat hesitantly.

I whispered to Emma. "What's with her? She seems frightened."

She only sighed. "At my 7th birthday party, we had a pirate themed pool party. We dove for treasure and Kitty's bikini strap got caught in the drain."

"Ooh, rough." Was all I could say.

"Yeah. Her top got stuck in the filter and-"

I blushed brightly at that image and cut Emma off with my hands up in front. "TMI, Emma! TMI!" I started to run over to where Kitty was and prepared myself for the diving challenge.

"Just stating the facts!" She called back. Yeah, but there are some things that people just aren't ready to see and/or hear.

That was one of them.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: It's really sad Kitty's afraid of going underwater. Though it makes sense in the context because... well you know.**

 **Sky: Uh... I don't know. Where are you getting at?**

 **Zane: *Raises an eyebrow* Her name... and water.**

 **Sky: Oh.**

 **Zane: *Grins* But this is also a great opportunity for me. If I can help get her over her fear, she'll love me even more than she does. Then I'll confess my feelings to her and BAM. I'll have a girlfriend before we even get to the chill zone.**

 **Sky: *Crosses her arms* About time. I was beginning to lose faith in you. *Gains a surprised look then a frown from Zane* What? It literally took you an entire story... of challenges throughout this race.**

 **Zane: *Sarcastically* Yeah, thank your support.**

* * *

I fully prepared myself for the diving challenge whereas Kitty looked below the water with a frightened expression. It hurt me to see her like this. Really it did. No matter what would happen, I'd have her back when we were down there.

"Hey." She turned to me just as I gave her a reassuring smile. "We're in this together. Still have the alliance ya know."

"Um, yeah. I'm just... uncomfortable when it comes to water." Kitty admitted. "I've uh... had an incident you could say before all of this." She had an even more scared look... crossed with embarrassment. "I'm not sure if I can even do this."

"It's okay. Like I said, I'll be down there with you." I said. She still didn't seem to budge, but I seemed to surprise her when I took her hand. "We're in this together."

She let a breath in response, trying to calm herself.

"Whenever you're ready." I waited for her until she nodded. Both of us ran across the docks, dived into the water, and were immediately greeted by darkness.

I turned on my flashlight for better sight. I could hear Kitty gulp from beside me as we were going down. "Um... I'm starting to have second thoughts about this."

"Ah, don't worry, Kitty." I grinned, looking to her. "The only thing to fear is fear itself."

"And... what pretty much lurks in the darkness."

 _"How are you guys doing down there?"_ Sky communicated with us. _"The Surfers just pulled up."_

"We're good." I pointed my flashlight toward my map. "Just starting navigate through here."

"Okay, the tunnel entrance should be..." Kitty focused her flashlight into a dark cavern and then screamed. "YAAH! Yeah, I don't think I can do this!"

 _"Of course you can do this! You're the toughest, most resourceful person I know."_ Emma encouraged her. _"I believe in you Kitty. Zane comes in a far second."_

"Wait, what do you mean a far second?" I glared up to the surface. How come I'm not a close second? Also, Emma thinks I'm tough and resourceful? I thought she finds me immature and annoying.

"Aw, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Kitty said back. She paused then realized I was next to her just as I gave a blank look. "A-and Zane."

"Nice to be appreciated..." Was all I could come up with as I sulked down a little.

 _"Nice. NOW MOVE IT! BRODY'S COMING!"_ Emma screamed through the comms.

"And the boss lady returns." I retorted as we started to swim through the cavern. After a bit, we were heard what sounded like a-

 _"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"_

That. The sound equal to someone who's about to get killed.

It made me stop in my tracks and cringe A LOT. I thought my eardrums were explode. I stood still for a moment before I fell back and sank on the floor. For Kitty, it made her somewhat more afraid to be down here.

"What was that?" She asked.

 _"Josee screaming in her mic."_ Sky answered. _"Nothing to deal with yet."_

"Well if you get the chance, tell her 'Congratulations. You've almost succeeded into destroying my eardrums." I snarked, getting back up and catching up with Kitty. "And she's a grown-up crybaby."

 ** _"I HEARD THAT!"_**

Once again, Josee almost managed to break my eardrums.

"Perfect." I deadpanned again, before swimming along with Kitty navigating through the caverns.

After a while of searching, more panicking...

...from Josee. _"I can't do it. I can't... WHAT DO YOU WANT?! Wake up, Josee. You're a winner. And winners never quit! Are you a baby? Don't even answer or taunt me, Zane! I'm talking to myself!"_ Me and Kitty cringed for a moment then just looked awkwardly to each other as she went even more insane. _"Where was I? Oh, right. You're pathetic, Josee! A pathetic baby who sucks her thumb and goes to bed."_

 _"Super awkward..."_ We heard Emma respond to... well... everyone in general during Josee's episode.

 _"No kidding."_ Sky's voice rang out.

 _"Do you hear me?"_ Josee finally ended.

 _"Oh, we're hearin' it."_ MacArthur replied, in a taunting tone. _"Can someone please disconnect her mic?"_

"Yeah, I'm with MacArthur." I spoke up. "I'm starting feeling an odd mixture of guilt and annoyance."

 _"Shouldn't you talk her down?"_ Sanders voice came up on comms.

 _"I've taken this kind of crud from her for 14 years! It's about time she got a taste."_ Jacques responded.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Kitty: 14 years of that? Almost feel sorry for him... *smiles along with Emma* almost.**

* * *

 **Zane: *Crosses arms with deadpan expression* Yeesh. If anything I'd rather have Hatchet as my partner... and the guy's a crazy ex-army vet who can barely cook food. No offense, dude.**

 **Sky: *Nods her head in agreement***

* * *

"Emma, we've made it to the caverns." Kitty updated as we stopped in a big room. She pointed her flashlight around. "I think I see something gold..." She stopped over a treasure chest full of gold coins. She gasped in excitement.

I smiled along with her and pointed ahead. "There it is! We've found the treasure!" We swam toward the chest.

 _"Yes!"_ Emma and Sky cheered. _"Knew you two could do it."_ Sanders and Jacq groaned.

 _"Kudos!"_ Geoff replied.

"Thank you." I thanked.

 _"No problem, Zane."_ Emma responded.

I frowned in response. "I was talking to Geoff."

 _"No problem, bro."_

"First place, all the way." We both looked to an... angler fish. "Aah!" Kitty freaked out accidentally letting go of her flashlight which resulted by getting eaten by the fish. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Don't worry. I still have mine." I reassured her. Right after I said that, the angler fish ate my flashlight as well. I glared at it as the lights inside flickered on. "Oh, come on! Give them back!" I grabbed onto the angular fish. As soon as I did, it started to drag me around the cavern. "Whoa! Aah! Little help here?"

As soon as she had the opportunity, Kitty grabbed onto it and it stopped. "Got it!" The fish then growled in response.

I made an 'Oh, brother' underreaction face while Kitty's face was by normal standards 'uh-oh'. "That can't be good." The fish suddenly moved even wilder making us scream in terror.

"Guys, what is it?!" Emma spoke up in comms in concern.

"We're being dragged away by a fish!" Kitty responded, very frightened.

"Not as fun as it sounds!" I added, in the same tone.

"AAH!" We both screamed as it took us into another cavern.

During our wild ride, we heard that Brody (after mistaking it for balloons) was able get gold doubloons, and Sky ask him if he saw us.

"Uh... nope. Sorry."

"Guys, where are you?"

"A couple caves over... I think..." Kitty replied, while I was punching the fish for it to cough out our flashlights as it kept swimming in defiance. "Oh, enough already! Give it back!" Unfortunately, the fish got away from us and with our flashlights.

Yet, that wasn't our worst problem.

*CLANG*

"Oh, no!/perfect."

 _"What?"_ Emma responded in panic as to our comments as we both struggled. _"Is everything okay down there?"_

"We're... we're stu-u-u-u-u-uck! AAAHH!" Kitty cried as we were both stuck in the hole we were in.

"We're doomed." I sulked my head down in despair. "And don't get any bright ideas or images in your head!" I glared up at the surface.

 _"Ha, too late."_

I frowned in response. "You are one dirty cop, MacArthur." I turned serious this time. "Can't someone dive in and get us out? This is... an embarrassing position for us." That was an understatement.

 _"The tip says they can get divers to rescue you, but you'll get cut from race."_ Sky answered. Wow, isn't that helpful?

I made an angry expression. "Can this show not be sadistic for once?" We both tried our best to get out of the hole we were in, but wasn't heading anywhere. After a while, we both stop struggling and Kitty groaned while I growled. "Well, isn't this great? Just exactly how I planned it. Both of us are stuck in this hole with no way out! And if that weren't enough, we'll be soaked corpses by the time we get out! The show REALLY likes to mess with people!" I screamed in anger and frustration. "Maybe they should send waterproof robots to annihilate us or just fill this ocean with tiger sharks and electric eels to eat us already!"

 _"Zane, STOP IT! GET A GRIP! You're scaring Kitty!"_ Emma scolded just as she heard Kitty's cries in response.

I sighed calmly. "Sorry. I... I was losing myself there. I haven't been in a tight spot like this for a while." I exhaled again. "What's the use anyway?" I looked at Kitty in her eyes just like she did me. "I was supposed to protect you from this and... look how that turned out. We're stuck in this hole with no way out. Now we're both gonna die. And..." I sniffled. "It... It's all my fault." Tears started to form in my eyes. "I don't even deserve to be your boyfriend."

Kitty had wide-eyes and gasped in surprise. "What?!"

"BOYFRIEND?!"

My tears went away instantly as we both cringed at the other voices that came on all channels on the comms. I groaned in annoyance in response. "Oh, come on! I thought everyone would've known this beforehand."

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **MacArthur: *Raises an eyebrow* Zane having a crush on Kitty? *shrugs shoulders* Um... news to me.**

 **Sanders: *Nods her head* Yup.**

* * *

 **Jacques: *Utterly confused* They both had crushes on each other?**

 **Josee: *Puts a finger on her chin* Well, that would partially explain their alliance.**

* * *

 **Brody: Whoa, Zane loves Kitty?**

 **Geoff: *Grins* And it's his first one and they're like a match made in paradise bro.**

 **Brody: *Smiles* Sha-yeah, man. Zane really knows how to pick 'em!**

 **Both: *Fistbump* Boom!**

* * *

 **Emma: *Honestly... and being for real... surprised* You and Zane love each other?!**

 **Kitty: Why are you so surprised? You teased us about having a romantic tango dance last challenge... *sulks in slight embarrassment* and I was crying over him when we went to the hospital when I caused that emu mountain accident. *Looks to the camera* Sorry, again.**

 **Emma: *Shrugs* Well, I thought he was joking, and that you felt really bad for that incident.**

 **Kitty: *Deadpan* I would've anyway.**

* * *

"Anyway... I've been wanting to tell you this for long time." I had a determined expression and smile. "Kitty, I love you!" Kitty looked at me with wide-eyes for a moment, until I responded and formed a frightened expression. "Also, please don't hurt me for not telling you!"

Kitty only smiled back passionately. "Zane, I've felt the same way ever since you saved me from falling off the CN Tower over in Toronto and especially Dubai... also, I'm not gonna hurt you."

I sighed in relief, mostly because she's not gonna hurt me.

"But I'm SO gonna hold this against you."

And relief gone.

"What? Why?" I asked her.

"Because, seriously?" Kitty chuckled, then made a serious face. "It took you an entire story to confess your feelings. What's up with that?"

"Ha!" I smiled victory. "Now you're breaking the fourth wall clearly. Just like me!"

Kitty laughed and smiled playfully. "Well, you started it!"

"If you two are done down there..."

I gave a solemn look up to the surface. "Sky, we're having a private moment. Stay out of this."

"It's not really private per say since everyone's hearing..." Her voice started to turn smug. "But if you really think about it-"

"SKY!" Kitty and I glared upwards with our cheeks colored in anger or embarrassment. I can't really tell for myself anyway.

"Now before anyone else decides to interrupt, I've been wanting say that ever since Dubai, but I just couldn't find the strength to." I smiled passionately back to her. "But... now that we're here..."

"I know..." She did the same thing. We both closed in toward our faces to kiss each other.

*CLANG*

"Oof!/Ow!"

...until we realized we still had our helmets on.

"Oh, right. The glass is in our way.../We still have our helmets on..." Kitty and I muttered shamefully.

"At least we get to enjoy each other's company." I did my best to look at the bright side of things. "That is, until the tanks on our backs run out of oxygen."

Kitty brightened up. "Zane, that's it!"

I confused where this was going. "What's it?"

"We're both gonna have to ditch the oxygen tanks and swim for it!" Okay, this is the craziest idea I've ever heard.

 _"Wait, what?"_ Sky's voice came up. _"No, Kitty! That's too risky!"_

 _"She's right. You heard Jacq. You both can't hold your breath long enough!"_ Emma agreed with her.

I had the decency to anyway. "Yeah, I don't wanna take sides on this. Unless you've forgotten we need air, happen to have a spare submarine, and that we don't have gills."

"Well, maybe Josee can't, but we have a chance." Kitty tried to reassure the three of us. "I've been practicing to hold my breath. I can go four minutes without batting an eyelash." She looked at me directly in the eye. "Zane, if you can survive a fall down a mountain, you should be able to go a few minutes without oxygen. "

"Um... that was me in a huge disaster that turned out ok, this is me trying to hold my breath with water rushing in me every second." I returned with an unsure look.

"Hey..." I felt her hand grab onto mine as she smiled. "It's like you said: 'We're in this together'. We can do this."

I grinned back. "Right."

"Okay, here we go!" Both of us took off our oxygen tanks, pulled ourselves out of the hole, held our breaths, and started to swim up to the surface, taking our bag of doubloons with us. It didn't take long just like she said. We inhaled largely just when we were above water.

"Made it." I said.

"Thank goodness!" Emma and Sky sighed in relief.

"Are we toast?" Kitty asked when both stepped on the docks.

"It's not over, 'til it's over." Emma stated, clearly saying we're gonna give up yet.

The four of us got on our jet skis and drove off to the beach. By the time we got there, the Cadets were already done and changed into their normal attire while the Ice Dancers were busy changing into theirs. By the time we were done changing into our normal attire, the four of us were in the bottom two. While we sprinting to the mid-point chill zone, the Cadets passing the Ice Dancers was a sight to see.

But for Josee, it was her way of showing she was still spoiled brat by throwing a coconut at MacArthur's head while she was running.

Sanders took of this, stopped, and glared at the Ice Dancers who passed on by. "Hey!" Josee only laughed like the Ice Witch she was.

We stopped where MacArthur fell, and gasped. Well, the girls were the ones gasping. I only presented a concerned look to MacArthur on the ground, then glared at Josee just as she looked back at me and blew a raspberry.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Emma: Yikes! Right after MacArthur helped her stay in the game... and you know... *shrugs* alive?**

* * *

 **Zane: *Glaring at the camera* Wow, Josee. Throwing a coconut at someone who saved your life, *sarcastically* real professional! What's next? You're gonna drop a bus on someone for saving you from a car accident?**

* * *

 **Josee: *Smiling* Just because she got all soft doesn't mean I have to!**

 **(Author: *Ticked off* YES! Yes, it does! Or at least return some kind of favor to show that you're actually thankful that she saved your stanked up life! That's the EXACT reason that keeps everyone from thinking you're a straight up spoiled, bratty, witch!)**

* * *

Amazingly, Sanders picked up MacArthur while she was down and ran past us when we started racing again. For real, she's stronger than she looks.

"Wow, you're glute strength has improved!" MacArthur said to her as Sanders started passing the Ice Dancers. Since when does carrying your big partner with your arms mean you're using glute strength?

All of us were now neck-in-neck to the chill zone approaching fast. Sky and I, without realizing, pushed ourselves, running past everyone else to the chill zone.

"Acrobats, 2nd place." Don announced. "Ice Dancers, 3rd. Cadets, 4th place."

Wait... that meant...

"Emma, Kitty, I'm sorry... but you've been cut from the race." I groaned in disappointment.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Zane: *Sulking* We pushed ourselves without knowing and completely left the Sisters behind. *Puts arms up in frustration* What's wrong with us?**

 **Sky: *Shrugs sheepishly* Pressure of the competition?**

 **Zane: *Crosses arms, Deadpan* Rhetorical, Sky. I was being rhetorical.**

* * *

"Kitty, I'm sorry!" I ran straight back to her, completely passing by Emma and Don, with a sympathetic expression. "We didn't mean to leave you and Emma behind. We were just so focused on the competition and-"

She smiled and stopped me by putting a finger on my mouth. "Zane. It's ok. We were gonna get eliminated sooner or later. Besides, we had a great time. Emma even complimented me."

I returned a strange look to her from behind. "You did?" She nodded her head, which made me narrow my eyes. "Who are you and what have you with the real Emma?"

"Anyway..." I turned my head back toward Kitty when she spoke up. "It was fun while it lasted." Her smile turned sheepish. "And, heh, about what happened back there in the ocean..." She didn't really want to finish that.

I raised a hand to stop her. "Uh... yeah. What happened in the ocean, stays in the ocean. Let's agree to keep that secret between us, okay?"

"Right." She nodded her head in agreement. Both of us we'll never live that down. "I'm just glad we were able to spend what time we had in the race together. Besides if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gone through that challenge and I wouldn't be your girlfriend."

I brightened up. "So we're official now?"

"Definitely." We both hugged each other. I wished it could've lasted longer.

"Ahem." Don cleared his throat on purpose. "Don't mean to interrupt, but the competition's starting to heat up." He pointed to where the Cadets and Ice Dancers were running to their respective boats.

"Right, Sky and I are still in the race." I looked back toward Kitty and I held her hands. "Meet me at the final chill zone, and after the race, we'll go out together."

"Sounds great." Kitty replied with a smile. "Oh, and Zane?" She smiled mischievously. "Make sure you crush those Ice Dancers."

I smiled smugly. "With extreme pleasure." I started to run off to the boats, but I stopped and came right back to her. "Oh, and before I forget... I owe you something"

She had a confused face. "You do?"

I smirked passionately. "Yup. This."

I kissed her back to return the favor in Dubai.

Kitty had a shocked expression with a blush straight across her face. "You... you..."

I smiled and waved to her as I started running to the boat. "See you at the chill zone!"

Not too long after I kissed her, I heard what sounded like a-

" **EEEEEE!** "

Yup, that. No doubt that Kitty screaming in delight at me kissing her. Although it was loud, I found it very cute. I blushed happily in response as I made it to the boat Sky was on.

She was smiling. "So, you and Kitty...?"

"Definitely official." I grinned back. "Now..." My smile was formed into a determined one. "Let's finish this."

* * *

 **And thus part one of the finale passed, and Kane (Kitty x Zane) was born. No words or notes of importance here.**

 **Just the finale. Final chapter's up.**

 **Enjoy.**


	27. A Million Ways To Lose A Million Dollars

**Here we go. The grand finale of the Ridonculous Race.**

 **Let's do this.**

* * *

Once again, Sky and I have done it.

We've made it.

After all the hard work, all the struggles, all that sweat, we both have made it to the grand finale of the Ridonculous Race. Well, in a way we have. It's technically still the semi-finals, but that didn't mean we were gonna hold back. No matter what, we were determined to win this race one way or another and get another case of the million dollars.

Or at least just beat the Ice Dancers and gloat at their elimination.

After we received our final travel tips that instructed us to go to the airport that'll give us one last flight to New York City, we sat in the airplane along with the other three teams.

For sure, this was gonna be a close race.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional: Plane)**

 **Sky: *Smiling* We've finally made to the finale!**

 **Zane: *Grinning* Yup. And now we're the only contestants to do so twice in Total Drama history. *Points a finger up* That takes some serious skill... which we do have.**

 **Sky: We're so gonna win this!**

 **Zane: *Shrugs* Or at least tear the Ice Dancers a new one.**

 **Sky: That too.**

* * *

As soon as the plane landed, all of us raced out of the JFK Airport and ran straight to the Don Box. If there wasn't any pressure before, there was now since none of us didn't slow down for anything. Sky took the next tip from the Don Box right after Geoff.

 _"It's an All-In: Who's Ready To Face the Traffic? Take one of the Ridonculous Taxi Cabs and drive all the way to the Empire State Building. Once there, climb..._ " Sky then gained a worried look. _"86 flights of stairs all the way to the observation deck and grab one of the four suitcases with a travel tip attached. Once done, read the instructions to where the mid-way chill zone is and follow your objective. Fun fact: Last team to arrive is pretty much doomed. Have fun!_ " She widened her eyes nervously. "Oh, boy."

"The taxis!" Brody saw them not too far from where we were.

"Quick, let's go!" I commanded. I wasted no time as soon as I saw them and Sky managed to catch up with me. We were able to secure the third place taxi. The moment we were in, I took the driver's seat and Sky grabbed the map while occupying the passenger's side. We were already on the streets faster than the blink of an eye.

"Which way to the Empire State Building?" I asked in a hurry. Didn't really want to get lost in the big city, especially when we're in a competition.

"Left!" Sky answered.

"Hang onto something." I told her. I drifted the taxi left and sped down the street.

"Next right." I did the same thing again right after she told me the direction. I navigated around and in through the cars in the street. It was like playing Need for Speed, except if I crashed there would be no reset and probably have to use the million to pay for someone's insurance if the thing I crashed into was their car.

"Normally I would object to you driving like this is a street race, but this is somewhat similar to an actual street race." Sky commented.

I smiled smugly. "And who says video games never help you in real life situations?"

*CRASH*

"Aah!" Both of us screamed in surprise as something from behind crashed and bumped us further. "What was that?!" I asked with wide eyes.

Sky looked from behind her and gasped. "It's the Ice Dancers! FLOOR IT!" I slammed on the gas pedal to go to push the taxi. I drove wildly to avoid them from slamming us, but they were able to so again and spun us.

"WHOA!" Eventually, our little ride crashed us into a nearby pole. We both struggled out the vehicle, when we stopped. Both of us regained our senses, then glared at the Ice Dancers' cab as they drove away.

"UGH! You two are so irritating!" Sky screamed and stomped her foot in annoyance to them as they gained distance from us. We've said this many times, but it'll never lose it's meaning.

* * *

 **(Dual Confessional)**

 **Jacques: *Smiling* Just because we're in a competition doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves, huh?**

* * *

"Forget about them, Sky. We'll deal with them later. Right now, we have bigger fish to fry." I said with some anger in my voice, gesturing to our wrecked taxi.

She sighed. "Aw, man. What are we gonna do now? We'll never get to the building and stay in the race by running."

I looked around and saw a sign with staircases leading down below. I smiled and pointed forwards. "Over there. Subway entrance!" She turned her head to the sign. "We'll get to Empire State Building and get our suitcases in no time. Sound like a plan?"

Sky smirked back. "Definitely. Let's go!" We both ran down the subway entrance, grabbed two tickets for the ride, and were already on board riding through the tunnels. Both of us sat next to each other completely ignoring a sleeping hobo next us.

"I'll give NYC some credit. They're subways are cleaner than I expected." I commented, clearly impressed by their standards.

"That's probably keep the rat population away from here." Sky remarked. "I don't think anyone would dare touch the outside of the subway if there was even one rat in here."

I shrugged. "Can't blame 'em. There's even more rats than people from what I've heard. Still, it's a quite sight to see." I laid back in my seat, putting my hands on the back of my head.

"Yup. Thinking about taking Kitty on a date here?" She asked me.

I made a balancing gesture on my hand. "Eh... probably. I'm not too sure. The restaurants can be very rough. If you take a one second delay, you have to go to the back of the line."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"The lines in restaurants here stretch out for at least a quarter mile." I deadpanned.

"Oh." Was she could respond with.

"But from what I've heard, the food here's great." I grinned. "It's no wonder it's a tourist attraction anyway."

 _"Next stop: Empire State Building."_ The voice on the intercom updated our next arrival.

"Yeah!" Sky and I high-fived each other.

A few minutes later, the subway stopped, both of us sped out of there and up the stairs. When we reached the top, the building was right in front of us.

"Here's the Empire State Building." I gestured in front of us with a grin. I turned my attention to a taxi that was parked in front of it. "And someone else is here. My guess is that the Surfers already made it."

"What makes you say that?" Sky asked as we started to run into the building.

"Well, they've been having a good streak so far." I tossed out one theory just as we both started to run up the stairs.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, what's up?"

Geoff and Brody passed by and greeted us on their way down holding a suitcase with a travel tip attached to it.

I smiled even more. "Like I said before: good streak."

A few flights of stairs later, both of us made it to the top. "Here it is. We're at the deck."

"And three cases left." Sky pointed ahead and sure enough three were remaining. "We're in 2nd place." She gripped onto the travel tip and read it aloud. _"Take this briefcase to the midpoint chill zone in Central Park along with your tip, and hand it Don to move onto the next challenge. As said before, don't be the last team to arrive or you'll be cut from the race._ I've got the briefcase." She grabbed it alongside the tip that was attached to it.

"Great. Now let's mosey on outta here." I commanded.

"Uh... is 'mosey' even a word?" Sky asked as we both started running back down the flights of stairs.

"Yup." I nodded. "It's real. Look it up in a dictionary if you don't believe me."

"I'll take your word for it."

On our way down, we heard Josee's voice ring out. "First inside the building, first to the final challenge, first to win the million!"

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, what's up?"

After Geoff and Brody's voices...

"UGH!" Oh, and did I mention she's gonna tempt fate right now? "Forget it! At least we're still in second place and ahead of the Acrobats for sure."

Aaaaannnnd that's when we passed by them.

"Uh, try bronze, Ice dunces." I taunted as me and Sky went by them.

"Or better yet, tin." She joined in. Also, after that...

 **"RRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**

Ah, nothing says relief than getting a loud, irritated scream that shakes New York out of from your nemesis.

Once we exited out of the building, we found a glorious sight in front of us.

"Look, a Ridonculous Taxi!" Sky exclaimed happily.

"Don probably left it for us." I replied quickly. "C'mon!" We both rushed inside the taxi and strapped in. "Better hang on, it's gonna get pretty wild here." I made the taxi blast off in an instant. We were on our way to Central Park and it didn't seem anything would come between us 2nd place. "We're making good progress. The park isn't far now."

Sky looked at the rear view mirror, had wide-eyes, and gasped. "That's not the only thing that's close to us."

I also looked up and saw another taxi with two familiar looking pink dressed characters closing in on us fast and growled. "Ice Dancers. Up to their old tricks. They won't get us this time!" I made a split-second lane change to the right just as they charged through.

I rolled down my window at the same time Josee did hers and both of us glared with hatred in our eyes. "Move it or lose it, Acrobats!" She smiled deviously. "Or better yet lose so we can take home the gold and gloat in your pathetic faces!" Their taxi bumped into ours, but I was able to control it and stay on the road.

"You've gotta a lot nerve for wrecking us back there, ice pigs!" I shook a fist angrily at them. "I'd like to see the same thing happen to you. Which reminds me..."

I turned my steering wheel and slammed into their taxi even harder. The force was enough to shake them up, so I took another risk. I slowed down a little and was able to perform a pit maneuver, resulting in them being driven off to the side and crashing into a pole toward the side as they screamed. Their taxi wasn't totaled, but I was able to cause some damage to them and they weren't gonna catch up to us anytime soon.

"There." I smiled in relief. "That should hold 'em off for a while." If that doesn't, then the Cadets will deal with them. I kept that thought to myself. Although, I had a feeling Sky felt the same way too.

After a few more minutes of driving, Sky pointed ahead of us and smiled. "Look, there's Central Park!" Not a moment too soon too. I was starting to feel pressure. Nah, I'm kidding.

My grin widened seeing as our chances to being the final three were in our hands. "Nice! We got the suitcase, are in second place, and headin' to the chill zone. This'll lead us right toward the end."

Sky's smile immediately disappeared looked at me with wide-eyes indicating horror. I returned a confused expression then turned sheepish realizing some misinterpretation. "Aheh... the end of the race. Not my life." I still feel some of the bruises from that fall. Note to self: never fall into a false sense of security when dealing with enemies on this show.

I may never stress that enough.

I came to a stop when we were at the end of the road (no, don't even think about it) where another cab was present which we (correctly) assumed belonged to the Surfers. Sky and I exited out the vehicles and ran into the park.

"There's Don up ahead." Sky stated as we were nearing the midpoint chill zone and saw the host come up into view. "Almost to the finals!"

We stepped on the mat. "Yeah! 2nd place belongs to us." I cheered.

"Well, as soon as you hand me your travel tip, then you'll take 2nd." Don told us.

"Oh, right." Sky was about to hand the tip to him... then life happened. As in a gust of wind blew the tip out of her hand and the opposite direction into the air.

She gasped in horror. "No! The tip! After it!"

We both ran away from the chill zone in pursuit of the tip as it soared at least ten feet above us into the air while we jumped occasionally in a futile attempt to get in back down. Eventually, the wind made it perform a few loop-de-loops before it stopped on top of a branch of a tree that was fifteen feet above us.

"Aw, great." I groaned in annoyance. "Now what?"

"Try shaking the tree." She suggested. Both of us did it at the same time, but it wasn't enough. Even if we did get it down, by the time we would succeed we'd come in last place.

"It's not working, we need a new strategy." I said in response. The sound of an engine prompted us to look over. We saw the Cadets get out of their... hot dog car? You know what? Nevermind, we were having bigger fish to fry at that moment. Not to mention that just as the Cadets passed us, the audible footsteps of the Ice Dancers were sounding as they came up into view on the horizon. "And fast." Sky seemed to be at her stress breaking point and looked like she might blow herself out and give up. I stood calmly and contemplated for a moment then snapped my fingers with a smile. "I got an idea! But it's very risky."

"Anything sounds good right now." Is what she said with a smile of sight nervousness, then when I announced it...

"I'm gonna have to throw you up into the tree."

She did not want to comply at all. "Don't you have another plan?"

I crossed my arms. "Nope." I formed determination in my eyes. "Besides, I refuse live in a world where our arch-enemies win against us then possibly take 1st place and rubbing it in our faces. Besides it's the only thing we can do right now unless you think you can perform some kinda magic trick or-" I stopped when she handed me the briefcase with right after she formed an expression as if she remembered something. She then formed a resolute one and started performing acrobatic moves going from branch up to branch, flipping, jumping up, until reaching the travel tip, then jumped back down toward the ground standing in confidence where I was looking at her in slight awe.

Time to time I'm always reminded why we're labeled the Acrobats.

I shook myself out of my stupor and grinned. "Yeah, that... also works."

"Bye-bye, batties!" Josee taunted as she and Jacq passed by us.

"Quick back to the chill zone!" Sky and I both sprinted back on our way to the midpoint with break-neck speeds catching up toward the Ice Dancers. While we were on our way up, we all saw (also confirmed by Josee's scream to take 2nd place) the Cadets to be in a pickle as Sanders was struggling to retrieve from what can be assumed to be her and MacArthur's tip down a sewer drain with her bent arm.

That or really want a pet rat. I doubt it though.

After getting back their tip (and Sanders passing out from the pain in her arm) us passing by, MacArthur picked her up and carried Sanders on her shoulder. She sped by the four us amazingly by a few margins, leaving us and the Ice Dancers in one of the most heated final stretches in the race so far. Just as they pushed their speed, Sky and I pushed ours, each of us trying to get an edge and leaving no room for any disadvantage to take to chance. Every second felt like years as we neared Don to the midpoint chill zone.

For those last few seconds of complete, intense, desperate sprinting, all of us made it to the chill zone...

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...and Don took the tip from Sky's hand!

"Acrobats take 3rd place!" Don announced.

Sky and I cheered and hugged each other at the same time the Jacq and Josee screamed 'NOOOOOO!' in utter defeat. I mean yeah, we moved down a position, but we still beat the Ice Dancers and are still the race!

And that's a victory.

"Jacq and Josee... I'm sorry..." Don seemingly showed remorse, but then it immediately went away after replacing it with happiness, "...that it took me so long to say this: you're cut from the competition!"

And right after that (and I'm being for real) both of them stood up and posed for the cameras. Seriously, this is kinda hard to swallow.

"You're taking this suspiciously well..." Don voiced all our thoughts.

Josee stopped posing for a moment and smiled as her eyes twinkled in hope and happiness...

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...until her face scrunched in anger.

"Oh, no." Jacques said, realizing she's about to snap.

"Incoming villainous breakdown in 3... 2... 1..." Sky counted down signaling with her fingers.

Josee actually jumped up on top of the fountain statue, ripped of the wings, and threw it off while screaming in rage. Then she jumped down into the fountain and, once again I'm not kidding, picked up an alligator. Seriously, I've heard the urban legend of them living in sewers. Not fountains! Nevertheless, she threw our direction causing all of us, even Jacques, to yelp in surprise and duck to avoid being gator food. I haven't seen anything this bad since Heather being eliminated from technically not taking the dare from the first season and still getting her hair cut and turning out to be a hot mess.

Even she wouldn't have this bad of an attitude.

It looked she would've caused more damage if I hadn't use sarcasm at that moment.

"Nothing says 'professional athlete' like throwing a tantrum like a three year-old and causing destruction to public property." Cue deadpan snarkiness by me just as she breathes heavily.

In an instant, she's all over me like syrup on pancakes, jabbing her finger into my chest.

"You... YOU...! I'll make sure you don't even step out of the hospital for good!" She ran over, picked up a hot dog cart, and was about to throw it at a surprised and slightly terrified me.

She would've been likely to achieve that goal had Jacq not stop her by running over and calming her down.

"Josee, no! He's not worth it! It's over. We... we lost." He received defeated easily, but Josee didn't as cried and hugged her partner for comfort... also completely forgetting to put down the hot dog cart causing it to smash on top of both of them.

I would've laughed if I hadn't felt sorry for them for the first time at that moment. Actually now that I mention it, I did feel an odd mixture of that and sadness there.

"I wish I could leave saying 'I'm proud of what we did,' but... I can't." Jacques admitted when he and his partner stood up.

"We didn't deserve to be champions... the way we behaved..." Josee agreed. "The Acrobats probably deserve gold more than us."

"But thi... this isn't a-"

"Shh." I shushed Sky on the off-chance Josee might snap again. It's amazing though, and very hard to choke down at the same time. The Ice Dancers acknowledging respect for us? Seriously, it's gonna be a while before that sinks in.

"But we can learn from this." Jacq continued.

"I'm going to be a better person... starting now!" Both starting walking off, away from the chill zone.

"Ah, Josee, I am so proud of you." That pride only lasted a moment until she pushed an old lady into the fountain, causing Jacq to lose his smile.

"Or maybe now!" Josee said.

After they disappeared into the horizon, I replied with a raised eyebrow. "Or... maybe never."

"Um... yeah." Sky agreed. She turned serious in a flash. "Quick, we need to get to the next Don Box."

"Right." We both ran off, me still having the case in hand.

Sky took the next travel tip as soon as we arrived. "Buoys Will Be Buoys." We started running straight ahead passing by the MacArthur who was tending to Sanders on a nearby park bench, and Sky kept reading. "Go to the boathouse and use one of the boats and search the buoys below the pond for the combination that will unlock your brief case giving you your next tip."

We stopped at a nearby map of Central Park for directions. "There." I pointed at the center. "It's right in the middle of the park. C'mon let's go!"

Both of us made a break to the canoes at the end of the docks and climbed aboard a purple one. We paddled quickly as we could to the center of the pond as the Cadets and Surfers (who I'm assuming got lost or distracted somehow) were catching up.

When we were nearing the buoys, we heard some biting noises below us.

"Uh, are you eating chips, Zane?" Sky asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. I didn't bring any snacks with me."

A moment later, an angry turtle launched itself right into the boat and bit Sky's leg. "Ow!" She placed her leg up as the turtle kept chomping on it. "As if we didn't have enough trouble."

I imitated an old man's voice. "Back in my day, we had turtles for dinner. Not the turtles having you for dinner." I chuckled at my joke, while the turtle turned its glare and growl at me. I smiled and laughed nervously. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible." Not taking any chances, I quickly removed the turtle and threw it back into the pond.

After a quick inspection of Sky's leg for any injuries, we both stopped by a buoy. "Okay, first buoy." She got up and inspected it. "I don't see any numbers." The Cadets weren't having much easier time than us.

But the Surfers did. "Here's one!" Brody lifted a buoy and saw a three numbers.

"I got this." I quickly lifted up the buoy and said the numbers. "5-1-3."

Sky took the briefcase and tried it. "No good. Try another buoy."

"Hey, Brody!" We overheard MacArthur calling out. "I'll trade you the million for a date!" She posed as the Surfers stroked by.

Amazingly, said surfer had his head in the competition. "Sorry, hotstuff! We gotta take you down!" Ouch.

"WHAT?!" She glared at them.

"Awkward." I whispered to Sky as she nodded her head in agreement. We went back to searching for the combination for the suitcase. Buoy after buoy and nothing. For what it seemed like hours, the Cadets finally got their brief case and quickly stoked by us as MacArthur accidentally dropped the buoy into their canoe.

"We're down a place. Keep searching!" Sky said. We stroked toward another buoy and tried other combinations. Nothing yet. And the Surfers were already done and sailing away. "Great. We're finished."

"No, we were not. Acrobats are never finished 'til the end of the race." I formed a determined smile. "We can play catch up!" I took hand on one buoy. "Fingers crossed here." I read the numbers. "3-4-2."

Sky tried the combination and the briefcase opened, making her smile. "Yes! This is it!" She took hold on one of the paddles. "Quick, to the shore!" Both of us paddled as fast as we could, nearing the Surfers as they got out of their boat. As soon as we touched the dirt, we jumped out and sped off while Sky held the golden tip in her hand.

"Where's the last chill zone?" I asked her as she lead the way.

"This way!" She pointed ahead as we were catching up to Geoff and Brody and seeing MacArthur as she was tiredly running while Sanders was ahead of her. "Faster! The Surfers and Cadets are coming into view."

I widened my eyes and gasped. "That's not the only thing that's coming into view. The chill zone's a hop, skip, and a leg away!" I pointed ahead.

Sky formed a panicked expression. "Now! Max speed!"

This was it. The final stretch.

We pushed ourselves even harder, giving it everything we had. Both of us were still trailing the Surfers which we both had to admit that they were pretty fast. Not only that, but the Cadets' lead was fading fast because of our determination to win this. All of us were neck-in-neck with each other in a moment's notice, the chill zone now getting closer than ever. Nearing the finish line, we passed by every contestant who was cheering us on as we all passed by them.

Once we reached the stage...

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...the Surfers stepped on the chill zone before the us and the Cadets. Sky and I came in 3rd place.

"The Surfers win it! $1,000,000!" Don announced. Geoff and Brody cheered in response.

"I love you, dude." Geoff said to Brody.

"I love you too, dude." Both of them hugged each other. I'm... not really sure what to think of this, but it's kinda heartwarming.

"Looks like everybody's happy." Don said.

"We're not!" Josee called out angrily as she and Jacques stood up.

"For the last time, I don't care!" Don replied with a glare back at them.

* * *

 **(Best of the Cadets: Clips are shown as both are narrating)**

 **Sanders: 18 teams started this race. We made it to the final three. That's pretty good.**

 ***Both are shown sliding down a zipline, pushing the Ice Dancers' car off the cliff in their truck, and navigating through geysers in Iceland,***

 **MacArthur: *Depressed* No, that only makes it worse.**

 ***Transitions to the Dune Buggy challenge as MacArthur struggles with Zane and Kitty in the tower***

 **Sanders: We faced adversity and fought our way through it. We learned a lot.**

 ***Shows MacArthur pushing Sanders down into the water to catch their fish. Then shows Sanders' partner gorging down a potful of pork and beans***

 **MacArthur: I learned that these heaps of pain were for nothing...**

 ***Transitions to them driving in Africa with their all-terrain truck and blocking off the Daters/Haters. Next, both of them riding on an icicle in the Arctic. MacArthur is shown carrying Sanders throughout some locations in the race, her accidentally hurting Sanders, then her barging into a train car***

 **MacArthur: I guess I learned more than that. Like my partner's pretty forgiving of me being a bonehead... and her pain threshold *Transitions to Dual Confessional as she pumps her hands up in the air* is rocket high! No seriously, you're a machine. You're invincible, untouchable!**

 **Sanders: *Accidentally Punched* Ow!**

 **MacArthur: *Sheepishly* Totally thought you were gonna duck that. *Looks at the camera with the same expression***

 **Sanders: *Unamused Aside Glance***

* * *

 **(Best of the Acrobats: Clips are shown as both narrate)**

 **Zane: Did we lose? Yeah. Did we make new friends and enemies? Yup. Did we have one of the greatest times in our lives? As cheesy as it all sounds... absolutely.**

 ***Shows both navigating on top of the CN Tower. Next, Zane saving Kitty by grabbing her hand at the last second and Sky smiling at him mischievously when he come back. Thirdly, Zane and Sky glaring at the Ice Dancers in Argentina. Transitions to them taking first in Transylvania against Jacques and Josee, much to their dismay***

 **Sky: And we both made to the finale again... but this time together. It takes skill to accomplish that more than once.**

 ***Transitions to them running to the Don Box in said city. It changes Sky's flawless performance in gymnastics***

 **Zane: Which is something we both have along with sheer will and determination.**

 ***Shows them navigating through the streets trying to get to the train to the Mediterranean***

 **Sky: Don't forget our alliance buddies. If it weren't for them, we probably wouldn't have made it far into the race.**

 ***Zane, Noah, and Sky are seen trying to help Owen out of the geyser hole he got stuck in. Fades to Zane and Kitty fighting MacArthur in tower in Las Vegas in the Dune Buggy challenge***

 **Zane: Yeah. It was nice to compete with Noah and Owen again. I bet those two never have a dull moment together.**

 ***A clip is shown of Zane, Sky, and Noah swinging to the other side of a cliff in the Brazilian Jungle and landing safely... until they're squashed by Owen. Transitions to them breaking out in prison along with the Sisters***

 **Sky: *Giggling* Don't forget the Best Friends, Surfers, and Sisters. *Teasing Tone* Especially a certain kitty-kat, Zaney.**

 ***Shows said teams working in the Ca-Noodling challenge together trying to catch fish. It changes to Zane and Kitty navigating through the tunnels under Abaco Island***

 **Zane: I wasn't going to forget about them and especially her. *Embarrassed Tone* A-and don't call me Zaney! Th-that's a bad nickname.**

 ***Clip of Zane saving Kitty using the wires to running on the windows, catching her in his arms, landing safely on the platform in Dubai. Cuts to them in the Arctic interacting with each other***

 **Sky: Suuuuure. But for once, I'm glad I came back to Total Drama. The million would've been nice though. That way we could've walked away with something.**

 ***Short viewing of her and Zane speeding down the Highway in Morocco. Then the two them trying to land in the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing. Transitions to Sky punching a shark to retrieve the tip back in the Mediterranean. It transitions to her getting a ring on the narwhal in the Arctic. Fades to her riding in her dune buggy while Zane controls it while retrieving flags. It ends with both of them hugging at the midpoint chill zone as they win over the Ice Dancers***

 **Zane: *Chuckling* You kidding? We came out of the race with stronger bond than ever. *Transitions back to Dual Confessional* I count that as walking away with consolation prize. I couldn't have asked for a better partner... and a cousin.**

 **Sky: Aww. Come here you! *Hugs Zane***

 **Zane: *Audible Crack* Ow!**

 **Sky: *Retracts hug* Whoops! *Blushes and laughs sheepishly* Sorry. I don't know my own strength.**

 **Zane: *Annoyed Aside Glance* That or my ribs are just very sensitive.**

* * *

"Great job, Surfers." Sander complimented.

"Nice play, guys." Sky agreed.

"Hey, Brody. Call me!" MacArthur said, then she and her partner walked off.

"Woo!" Geoff cheered.

"Yeah!" Brody joined in.

* * *

 **(Best of the Surfers: Clips are shown)**

 **Geoff: Doing this was amazing. And doing it with my best friend was even more like... there's no word for it!**

 ***Shows Geoff and Brody using a fire extinguisher in Brazil. Transitions to them digging out an Arctic Native from the snow. Cuts to Brody in his dune buggy being flipped as Geoff controls it Las Vegas. Shows them riding the mechanical bull in Buffalo Jump. A clips is shown of both of them traversing in the caverns in Vietnam... then running away from a boulder.***

 **Brody: Amazinger?**

 ***Shows Brody using himself to power the boat in the Mediterranean. Changes in to him and Geoff catching air in the snowmobile, and both of them hugging Don in the Arctic***

 **Geoff: And now there's a word for it: amazinger! Sweet!**

 ***Shows Brody enjoying himself with the bungee in Maori. Transitions to them in the Dual Confessional***

 **Geoff: Someone told us a week ago, 'We were about to have a crazy, worldwide adventure', I would've said, *Crosses arms and smiles* 'I know'.**

 **Brody: Psh-yeah. Because a week ago, we were already doing this.**

* * *

All of us stood together on the stage for one last photo shot with me and Kitty holding hands with each other; Noah and Emma doing the same thing too. Not to mention that Geoff and Brody were throwing the money they won into the air on the ground.

"Yes, throw your money on the ground." Don said sarcastically to them. "That's all for now. We hoped you enjoy our incredible race around the world. Be sure to keep an eye out for more of the Ridonculous Race!" He closed out the show at last.

* * *

 **(Epilogue)**

For me and Kitty's first date, Central Park seemed to be a good start.

Both of us were walking in the park while Sky was overlooking us as she sat in the bench with Owen doing his own thing... whatever it was. Noah and Emma were enjoying their time in their section of Central Park.

"I'm thinking, you're name nickname should be: Kitty-Kat." I said as she both sat enjoying the sights. "It's short sweet and has a nice ring to it."

She giggled and blushed at the nickname. "Same thing to you too, Zaney."

I scratched my head embarrassingly and felt my cheeks heat up. "Aheh... yeah... I need a new nickname."

"Personally, I think it's a great nickname." Kitty replied.

I smirked back playfully. "Which one: Kitty-Kat or Zaney?"

She waved her hand off. "You know what I mean."

I sighed in happiness. "Great day ain't it? Let's it make better."

"Agreed." She nodded her seemingly eagerly.

We were both leaning in for another kiss... then Emma cut in right between us looking toward me with a smile. "Just so you know that just because me and Noah are dating doesn't mean it'll stop me from being the overprotective big sister."

"Emma!" Kitty called out in an embarrassed tone.

"Don't worry, Kitty. I won't be too rough." She replied back before turning back to me. "And I bet you won't too since you're pretty good person and I'll know you'll take care of her."

I smiled before she added with a grin. "But if you break my little sister's heart, I will sue you for everything you have down toward the gloves you're wearing."

"Oh, well that's-" I widened my eyes in fear. "Wait, what?" Emma walked away to join Noah again. "Hold on. Y-you're... you're not serious are you?"

"Oh boy." Kitty scratched her head while blushing in humiliation.

I stood with wide eyes at her still as she and Noah were holding hands and staring at each other dreamily and after a second scratched my head. "She... she's quite the ice queen ain't she?"

Kitty smiled a little sheepishly. "Yes. Yes she is."

* * *

 **Annnnnnd scene. The Ridonculous Race is over, Kane is somewhat official by my standards, the Surfers won, and Brody's gonna get his date with MacArthur. I'd say everybody's happy!**

 **Jacques and Josee: We're aren't happy!**

 ***Glares at them* For the stinkin' last time, nobody cares!**

 **Anyway, the polls will still be up until further notice so cast your votes in because from here on out... you'll never know when it'll be closed so be quick.**

 **Thank you readers for all your support and reviews.**

 **Notice: I might rewrite some sections for better clarity.**


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